Painted Sky
by Pikachumaniac
Summary: One night of drunken love-making leads to unexpected results for both of the people involved, despite their efforts to keep an actual romance from ever happening. Seto&Otogi, dedicated to Nephthys-san. (Complete - 5-30)
1. Omoigakenai Nyuusu

Final disclaimer: Yu-gi-oh is the property of Takahashi Kazuki.

Painted Sky ~ One night of drunken love-making leads to unexpected results for both of the people involved, despite their efforts to keep an actual romance from ever happening. Seto*Otogi, dedicated to Nephthys-san.

        Wah… here we go again, mina-san! Welcome to my newest fic, a more serious yet still pretty fluff Seto*Ryuuji story. It's been a while since I really got to write this coupling (in something other than a break-up fic, at least… *eyes "Redemption"*), and I hope I can do it justice. And maybe on the side brainwash some of you into liking this coupling too…. XD

        The couplings for this fic are Seto*Ryuuji, YnBakura*YnYuugi, Yuugi*Anzu, Jyounouchi*Mai, Honda*Shizuka, and some past Malik*Ryuuji. The story takes place in the future, after college. Like "Fairydust" and LTOW, it takes place in an alternative universe where Yami no Yuugi never figured out the details of his past (basically ending the YGO universe directly after Battle City rather than proceeding to the Egypt arc). This particular chapter takes place on Sunday morning.

        Many thanks to rayemars-san for helping me with the beta reading of this story… your advice, corrections, and humor are always welcome. *hugs* This story also would not have existed if not for Nephthys-san… and thus it is dedicated to her. Thanks for proofreading the story outline, expressing interest in this story, and writing one of the best Seto*Ryuuji stories out there. =(^.^)= I hope you like this fic.

Rated PG-13 for language, shounen-ai

~ Omoigakenai Nyuusu – Surprising Information ~

        People often make mistakes… it's a part of life, really, although some people make more mistakes than they should reasonably be allowed to. Other people make all of their mistakes at potentially disastrous points of time, which shows their inability to deal with pressure as well as a horrible sense of timing.

        The ramifications of such mistakes are often not fully understood until everything that can possibly happen has taken place, and it is often fair to wonder how so much trouble could be spawned from a single action.

        Kaiba Seto, as CEO of Kaiba Corporation, knew of this concept better than he wanted to. Not to imply that he was the one making these mistakes… only one who had large pockets and the time to deal with a lawsuit would happily point that out to the brunette's face. Still, Seto often found himself cleaning up the aftermath of the mistakes of his subordinates… and sometimes himself, although that was more rare of an occasion.

        This newest mistake, however, was different from most other mistakes. It did not involve a lawsuit, dissatisfied employee, or anything remotely related to business. It also did not involve an angry otouto [1], who could easily be pacified by a promise of more time spent with or simply a bribe of a huge amount of money.

        Instead, it involved a most unwelcome houseguest who was currently lying on his bed next to him.

~ * ~

        That Sunday began in a more or less normal fashion, starting with the young billionaire awaking at his usual ungodly time. Why Seto awoke at such an early time even when he had no work planned for that day (Sundays had been put aside in order to allow him time to spoil Mokuba rotten), nobody knew, but that was beyond the point. Seto was awake, and he was not alone. The fact that he was not alone woke up faster than a bucket of icy cold water that still had the ice cubes floating on its surface.

        Seto's mind raced as he stared at the figure (still happily oblivious to what was happening around him) sleeping peacefully beside him. He prayed, desperately, that the black hair belonged to Mokuba and that his younger brother had randomly decided to search for comfort from him due to a particularly nasty nightmare. Never mind that Mokuba was already sixteen and thus well beyond the need for such comfort (or, rather, was too proud to go in search of it)… the possibility was there and much preferable to the concept that Seto had just awoken next to a complete stranger.

        For a moment, he could only lie there, staring at his companion's back. Then, slowly, as not to awaken the other person, Seto sat up, removing his arm from the person's back at the same time.

        _This can't be happening_, he thought slowly as he stared at the black-haired figure. He had long ago determined that it couldn't be Mokuba, as the hair was somewhat smoother than Mokuba's. Despite being old enough to take care of his personal hygiene, Mokuba still had problems with brushing his hair, which resulted in it looking like it had been caught up in some type of hurricane disaster. And, as he continued to inspect the part of the face he could see, his heart started to sink into the pit of his stomach as he recognized the bangs and overly lavish use of eyeliner. _Why did it _have_ to be one of them?!_

        Them referring to Yuugi and his group of rather over enthusiastic teenybopper cheerleaders, more commonly referred to as friends but cheerleaders nevertheless.

        And thus, the bane of Seto's very existence.

        He couldn't believe this was happening. He didn't _want to believe this was happening. Perhaps if he closed his eyes and went back to sleep, he would reawaken to discover that this was all some terrible, twisted nightmare. Yes, a nightmare. There was no way in heaven or hell that the Kaiba Corporation CEO would be stupid enough to somehow manage to be in the same bed as __Otogi Ryuuji._

        Otogi Ryuuji, the effeminate, flamboyantly gay, dice-loving inventor of DDD [2] who he wanted absolutely _nothing to do with. Of all the people in the universe, why did it have to be that he would end up being the one sleeping next to Seto?!_

        With no clothes on. As in naked. As in some extremely bad implications that made Seto's head ache… although that just might have been the slight hangover he already had from the previous night's activities.

        Yes, hangover. It was a well-known fact… and joke… that Seto had a very low tolerance for alcohol, which often led to practical jokes involving spiked drinks. It was no wonder that Seto hated going to business parties these days, and was more apt to find an excuse rather than attend them.

        Unfortunately, in this particular case, he had not been able to ignore it. It had not been only a party, but a supposed opportunity for him to meet the other guests of the seminar that was going on. The seminar that he had spent a great deal of money on, as it so happened to be.

        But what did that matter now? Money… money was quite insignificant, especially when one considered the _thing that was still asleep next to him! Right now, he would be more than willing to give up all the money he had spent for the seminar in order to wake up by _himself.__

        Breathe in, breathe out. There was no way any of this could be happening… no way at all. He was going to very calmly breathe in and breathe out, and he was going to count to three and as soon as he was done, none of this would be here anymore. Ryuuji would be _gone,_ he would be _alone_, and there was no way in hell that he could have been stupid enough to sleep in the same bed (and do god knows what else) with someone he barely knew due to the fact that he had been drunk.

        One….

        Ryuuji stirred slightly, although Seto was too engrossed in his counting to feel it.

        Two….

        The game inventor's eyes blinked open groggily, sleep still laying a heavy hand on his senses. Unfortunately, his senses were not dulled enough to realize that there was something very wrong going on and that he was in all possibility in a great deal of trouble that he did not want.

        Three.

        "Kaiba?!?!" Immediately, as if he had been waiting for this _exact moment (Seto was not quite sure that he hadn't been), Ryuuji shrieked as he pulled the blankets closer to him… noticing in the process, much to his dismay, that the sheets seemed rather sticky. "What the _hell_?!"_

        "How the hell should _I_ know?!" Seto immediately snapped back, the older man's [3] high-pitched screech not only making his headache worse but the question itself also leading to a sudden flurry of emotions, most of which revolved around anger. "Do you honestly believe that this is _my_ fault?!"

        "What the hell do you think you're implying by that?!"

        "Well, knowing you, Otogi-_san_," the word was spit out with a great deal of rancor and sarcasm, although his words were decidedly calmer than they had been before, "I would expect that _you are the cause of this situation."_

        Ryuuji was already a deep shade of crimson, but the statement was pushing him over the edge. For although Seto had not said it out loud, the implications behind the sentence were quite apparent, and the insult rang loud and clear. Not that Ryuuji had not heard it before… slander seemed to be a major part of being competitive these days, after all. However, for the oddest reason, he was less readily inclined to allow Seto, of all people, call him a slut.

        Especially since it was Kaiba Seto. It was odd, but even though the two had known each other since the second year of high school, they had never become close. Of course, that might have been because of Yuugi. Ryuuji had become friends with him while Seto remained the aloof rival, although tensions had cooled somewhat after the Battle City competition. But there seemed to be something else underlying the mutual distaste for one another that had nothing to do with their choice of friends. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that Ryuuji had rejected all offers from Seto to sell his game. The black-haired man had been rather adamant about promoting and improving his game on his own… a perfectly reasonable idea but one that had not gone quite well with the brunette, who did not seem to understand that the refusal was not a direct attack on his character. Which, unfortunately, had eventually led to the before-mentioned dislike that was now threatening to mutate into something that seemed very much like extreme hate.

        "You have a pretty high opinion of yourself then," Ryuuji hissed, "if you think that I would _ever_ want to sleep with the world's most arrogant _prick."_

        "I wouldn't be surprised," was the cold reply. "After all, everyone else knows of your reputation of flirting with every available person in a room… and then some."

        It was true… but both knew more than a little that it was only true to a certain extent. Ryuuji did have a rather unfortunate habit of flaunting his charming good looks (hey, if it was there, why bother to hide it?), but it never went beyond that. And it _certainly_ never went to the point that Seto was obviously suggesting.

        Still, the single sentence had its intended effect of insulting its victim… a gift that came naturally to Seto, in fact. Like Ryuuji, Seto just seemed to have a knack for offending other people. Unfortunately for Seto, his 'gift' came with some rather unforeseen side effects that would prove to be painful for his face.

        "You bastard!"

        The oh so eloquent statement was accompanied by a slap that was hard enough to make him dizzy for a moment. Something he couldn't but find somewhat… strange, as Ryuuji was not exactly the kind of person who looked very strong. Sure, he didn't look like a complete pushover… unlike Bakura Ryou, for example… but he also didn't look like the type of person who would engage in physical violence [4]. No, in Seto's mind, he simply looked like someone who would stand around and shoot off his mouth (or dice, since Ryuuji did seem to have a rather strange weapon of choice).

        A long silence followed the slap as the two opponents glared at each other, one person's cheeks a deep crimson while the other person's was reddening rapidly. Finally, Seto just folded his arms as he looked down on the other man and broke the silence in a less than polite way.

        "Do you end all your one-night affairs like that?"

        This time, he was prepared when Ryuuji tried to slap him again, catching his wrist before he could cause anymore harm. Such a development, of course, did not make the other man happy.

        "Well?" Seto persisted, his voice completely devoid of emotion. Not that he was actually expecting an answer of any type… no, he just wanted to see _if_ Ryuuji would answer.

        At the single word, Ryuuji immediately jerked his arm away; luckily for him, Seto wasn't very adverse to the idea of letting go, sparing him of anymore additional pain from the not so gentle handling. "Damare, bakayarou! [5]"

        With that, Ryuuji flung the blankets into Seto's face as he got off the bed, hands reaching quickly for the clothes that were on the floor. His eyes narrowed when he discovered that it was not his clothes, causing him to turn back towards Seto with a dirty look. "Where are my clothes?"

        "I thought you didn't want me to say anything," Seto replied smoothly as he also got up, calmly walking into the bathroom even with the game inventor's eyes glaring holes into his back. His calmness, however, did not follow through when he suddenly slammed the door shut, causing the whole mansion to shake from its intensity.

        For a moment, Ryuuji just stood there, trying to calm himself down. It wasn't until the shower started to run that he walked over to Seto's side of the bed to grab his clothes, cursing angrily under his breath.

        It didn't take him long to make himself somewhat decent before he stomped out of the room, even though he was still in the process of putting the dice earring back on and pulling his hair back into a ponytail. He barely even noticed as he passed by several maids who were staring at him with quite a bit of adoration in their eyes, too engrossed in searching for the exit to "this disgusting hell hole ruled by that self-centered asshole".

        Apparently, he had not been concentrating enough, for it wasn't until many wrong turns and dead ends later that he finally found himself blinking into the bright sunlight. And as he tried to figure out exactly how to get back home, he firmly decided _never_ to think about this hellish mistake ever again.

~ * ~

        One argument with the sentries guarding the gates of the Kaiba Mansion and two blocks later, Ryuuji realized that walking all the way home in his current state was probably not the best idea he had ever had. Of course, by that point, it was a bit too late to rectify his mistake, and he spent the next block mentally hitting his head against the wall. If only he had somehow managed to keep his temper down long enough to at least use the phone to call Honda to pick him up… or remembered to bring his wallet and cell phone to the dinner party last night. Maybe he could use a pay phone to call collect, but Honda rarely accepted them and that left him in the same position as before.

        Glaring off another potential stalker and cursing Seto silently again, Ryuuji continued to trudge home. He had never before known exactly how many odd people were on the streets at such an early time of the day… and a Sunday at that. He knew that many people tended to stay away from home, but still [6]… it seemed that every possible molester was standing outside staring right at him. Which, of course, made him think that there was some type of conspiracy going on right before his eyes… a conspiracy that he had no doubt was caused by Kaiba Seto himself.

        And it didn't help that he was currently _very sore from the previous night's activities… and that definitely wasn't referring only to his feelings._

        _Why am I always the one on the bottom?_ his mind shrieked angrily.

        In a way, that should have been the last thing on Ryuuji's mind. However, given the current situation, it was one of the few things that he could think of at the moment. He didn't know why… didn't really _care why… but it probably had something to do with the fact that he was still far from convincing himself that what had happened less than an hour ago really had happened. The human mind is very good at avoiding reality, it seemed, and he was going to take advantage of that concept until he was ready to face what had happened._

        Or maybe it was simply because he did not like the concept of being dominated by someone like Kaiba Seto.

        That selfish, arrogant, pain in the….

        The knife was in front of his face before he could finish that pleasant thought, and he wondered for the hundredth time that day if he was being severely punished for some crime he committed in a past life.

        "Your money or your life!" the man… well, to be truthful, he looked more like he was _nineteen_… threatened, and Ryuuji had to concentrate not to suddenly fall over twitching from the absurdity of the threat. True, the situation was extremely… well, dangerous… but still….

        "Wha… what?" he managed to get out without letting a small laugh slip out. It was easier than he expected despite the apparent idiocy of his self-proclaimed mugger. After all, while the dialogue seemed to come from a B movie, the knife looked very much like the real thing.

        "Your money, old man! [7]" the knife was waved threateningly. "Don't make me repeat myself again! Or are you just hard of hearing?!"

        Ryuuji's temper, which was already rather short due to the pleasant bout of hell he had been put through at the Kaiba Mansion, seemed to flare at the insults and threats. The day had been a general pain so far, and the last thing he needed was for a foolhardy teen who barely looked like he was out of high school to get in his face and demand for money which he didn't even have in the first place.

        Unfortunately, he had a feeling that even if he tried to explain the general lack of currency, the idiot would probably not believe him and the whole matter could become rather messy.

        Still, he had no choice but to try.

        "Look," he started, trying to be as patient as he possibly could under the circumstances. "Let's be reasonable here, all right? I don't _have_ any money right now. If I had money, do you think I would be walking home? That's why taxis were invented, you know, and…."

        "I don't want any of your excuses!" The blade was at a disturbingly close proximity to his skin, something he did not really appreciate. "Hand it over now or…."

        Perhaps if it had been a different time, the situation would have ended a bit… well, cleaner. Taken longer, perhaps, for Ryuuji to either sweet talk his way out of the mess or figure out some way to force the knowledge through the teen's thick skull, but certainly cleaner than flicking a die directly at the man's eye.

        He missed, but not by much. Either way, the result was still the same and _enough_. The teen immediately dropped his knife, and Ryuuji didn't waste any precious time in carrying out the most important part of his escape plan… which was, essentially, the escape part.

        Unfortunately for him, all his efforts went to naught. Ryuuji had barely managed to turn away before he found himself face to face with… the friend. After all, every wannabe mugger _has_ to have a friend to take with him on his little escapades (supposedly, the company was always welcome when it came to prison), and thus the newcomer was a rather problematic obstacle for him to cross over in his getaway.

        Maybe there really was a point to the old saying of how violence doesn't solve anything, he couldn't help but muse. It certainly had not solved anything in this case, at least.

        Before he could even manage to back away or at least throw anything else, the friend grabbed him by the wrists, pinning them behind his back as he called out to the first thug, "Did you lose something? Looks like you need my help to save your ass again, huh?"

        "Very funny," was the snarled reply as he walked towards them, rubbing his forehead where the small die had hit. "I swear I'm going to kick his ass into the next _century_."

        Definitely not a good situation. Definitely not his morning. Ryuuji had the inexplicable urge to scream out and demand if there was just some type of hidden agenda against him today to humiliate him to the point of wanting to crawl into a hole and never emerge from it again.

        Ryuuji had the rather nasty suspicion that he was in trouble, and the worst thing about it was that he had no idea how to get out of it.

        This was the kind of thing that he hated worse… even worse than the fact that he had been trapped by two people who even when combined didn't seem to have an IQ above that of a piece of mold. He didn't care _who_ made him helpless… all that he cared about was how he could have allowed it to happen. It had happened too many times when he was still living with his father; this state of not being able to do anything for yourself and being at the mercy of another. He wanted… _needed_ to be in control of the situation, and he never wanted to be at somebody else's beck and call. It was a simple thing to ask for, and at times it seemed like everyone desired the same thing.

        But then why did people so often allow themselves to be subjugated to the whims of other people? Why did they allow themselves to be led around instead of doing things on their own?

        The fear of being trapped in his past… the past that he had tried so hard to escape all those years ago… was becoming overwhelming, no matter how much he tried to control it. Another thing he hated… and another thing that he couldn't control no matter how hard he tried… this sudden burst of emotions that refused to be calmed.

        Those two concepts had been, for the longest time, the reason why he had been so grateful to escape the domination his father had over him… to be able to live on his own for a change. To be, at the very least, allowed to think and act for himself rather then being told what to do.

        Or being forced.

        He started to struggle again, a reasonable action for one found in his state. However, just because it was reasonable, intelligent, and not at all pragmatic but very much idealistic if he thought it was going to help, did not mean that his wonderful "playmates" were going to think so kindly of his actions.

        Later, he could not really recount what happened… especially after a particularly nasty blow to the head (he could only be thankful that the idiots were kind enough not to use any weapons on him). But what he did remember… and _very_ clearly… was what had most unexpectedly happened right when he was about to be beaten completely bloody for the money that did not and would not spontaneously exist.

        "Otogi Ryuuji?" the voice asking the sudden question was bold, emotionless, and carried a great deal of authority. Which was fortunate, as it caused the two men to let him go. Three heads then immediately turned to look at the speaker, and Ryuuji's eyes couldn't help but widen as he quickly recognized the man's clothing to be that of belonging to the poor souls who actually had enough stamina to work for Kaiba Seto.

        Upon realizing that, Ryuuji couldn't help but become more confused. For why would Seto send one of his underlings to help him, especially after the argument they had after waking up?

        "What?" spat out the first of his two new 'friends', the question immediately distracting him from the possible motives of the CEO.

        It always amazed Ryuuji how people who obviously weren't being spoken to liked to reply to questions that had nothing to do with them. And how they usually tended to try and make sure that the person who the questions were being directed to couldn't answer by being as rude and obnoxious as they possibly could.

        The newcomer… it looked like the chauffeur, but he wasn't sure how he knew that… obviously was having the same thought process because he looked down at the person who had addressed him. He was quite tall, which made looking down at people much easier [8]. However, despite the withering look he had on his face, he chose not to say anything, instead continuing to address Ryuuji as if nobody else was there. A typical Kaiba move, really, and the uncanny similarity annoyed the raven-haired man to no end.

        "Kaiba-sama sent me here to take you home."

        Another long silence followed the proclamation, which was given more like an order rather than an explanation. The two men behind him looked at each other worriedly, but he ignored it as he glared at Kaiba's chauffeur. Obviously, the man was not Seto himself, but with the same arrogant look and poise of the blue-eyed brunette, Ryuuji found it quite easy to direct his anger towards him.

        "Why?" the question seemed to be a bit vague, so he decided to make it a little more specific. It didn't even matter that there were other people there, and that if he knew what was best for himself he would just go with the man without asking any questions. However, it just was not in his personality to obey commands without making it as difficult as possible for all parties involved, so he continued to venture ahead with his suspicions as if it was perfectly normal… which it was, for him. "Why should I listen to you or him? Does he really think I need _his_ help?"

         "Considering your current state of affairs, I would say that you are indeed in need of his help," the chauffeur replied as he raised an eyebrow. Ryuuji couldn't help but notice how everything in this man's life seemed to revolve around Seto, as if he had only been created to do Seto's bidding and nothing else. "Also, despite the fact that you have apparently made other plans, Kaiba-sama did give me strict orders to take you back. If anything, you should be grateful that he had the foresight to lend you a hand despite your less than grateful personality."

        "It wasn't my fault." Even to his own ears, he felt like he sounded more like a sulky child than anything else… something that he did not quite appreciate.

        "Whether or not it is your fault is not of my concern."

        Ryuuji scowled as he finally gave in to the realization that this probably was not the best time to be stubborn. Even if Seto was an annoying prick who was in dire need of a reality check, it didn't mean that he should be stupid and throw away his chance for escape from dangerous circumstances.

        So with that, he allowed himself to be escorted into the vehicle, forcing himself to stare ahead and at nothing in particular the entire way.

        He seemed to have been doing a lot of that today anyway.

~ * ~

        After giving Seto's chauffeur (he had a name but it was rarely used, so by this point it was relatively forgotten to anybody but close family and friends) explicit directions not to tell Seto _anything_ about the situation he had been found in, Ryuuji finally found himself standing before his building. It did not take him long from that point to reach the relative safety of his apartment, and he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief as he closed the door behind him.

        Safety, at least, until he walked in to find Honda sitting at the table eating breakfast. And before he could run away or at the very least, throw himself out of the window, Honda had spotted him.

        "Oy," Honda cut off any further escape attempts with the single word spoken through a stuffed mouth; Ryuuji couldn't help but wince as flecks of food flew about his usually pristine kitchen. Not to imply that Ryuuji was a neat freak… he just didn't like the idea of having pieces of chewed food anywhere in the vicinity of a place that should be somewhat hygiene-friendly. "Where were you last night?"

        "What does it matter? I'm back now," Ryuuji shot back as he made a beeline for the fridge, his stomach growling already. Besides, fulfilling his hunger rather than someone else's curiosity seemed a more sensible decision. "Did you drink all the milk _again_?"

        "You were supposed to be back last night. This is morning. That leaves you unaccounted for several hours, so would you mind filling me in?" Honda continued, ignoring the question.

        _Two can play this game,_ Ryuuji thought to himself as he scowled, even though his face was hidden in the fridge and Honda had no way of seeing him. "Well, yes. I would mind, in fact. And for god's sake, Honda, isn't there anything edible left in this apartment?"

        "It was your turn for grocery shopping. And stop avoiding the question… we've been living together for nearly two years. It doesn't work on me anymore, remember?"

        "That _doesn't_ give you an excuse to play babysitter, Honda."

        "You still didn't answer my question."

        The door suddenly slammed, causing him to wince, and Ryuuji finally turned to look at him, emerald-green eyes looking rather… _scary_. Immediately, he wished that he hadn't pressed his friend so hard. Especially since he was starting to have a feeling that he really didn't want to know what had happened to Ryuuji last night… or really, he wanted to know but he didn't want to know from Ryuuji.

        "Do you _really_ want to know what happened last night? Are you _really_ that interested?" The words were spoken quietly. Dangerously. Honda really was really starting to get worried… and not only for his own safety, but more so for Ryuuji's apparently rapidly declining sanity.

        "Uh…." Honda's eyes darted about as he looked for an escape route for himself. Ryuuji was swiftly advancing on him, and despite being shorter, the raven-haired man looked extremely dangerous at the moment. "Otogi… maybe you should sit down before…."

        He was completely unprepared for the bomb that he had most accidentally activated.

        "I _slept_ with him! All right?! I _slept_ with that idiotic, smug, arrogant _pain-in-the-ass_ and it was all his fault, but he still had the nerve to blame the mess on me! As if it was _my_ fault! He thinks that _I'm_ the one who caused all of this, when it was more than obvious that the only person who could be blamed for it was _him!_ Does he honestly think that I am desperate enough to want to sleep with _him?!_" Ryuuji suddenly started to shriek, completely forgetting about the promise he had made upon leaving the Kaiba Mansion.

        Honda was starting to look extremely panicked, "Otogi…?"

        By this point, it was obvious that the game inventor was no longer listening… and had no intention of listening. Instead, he just continued to rant about Seto, although even Honda had to admit that it was relatively amusing to listen to Ryuuji sounding like a rabid maniac.

        "And when we woke up, he continued to be his usual priggish self. I have no idea how he can even think that anybody can stand him, that…."

        It didn't take long for Honda to realize that all he really needed to do was nod every once in a while and try his best not to smirk, as that would probably show Ryuuji that he wasn't listening. Or more of that he was listening, but not really taking in anything that was being said… except the amusement.

        And once he realized that, it was relatively easy to relax and continue with his breakfast. Ryuuji seemed content to rant about the 'son of a bitch billionaire who thinks he can rule the entire world and blame all his mistakes on me' and Honda was more then willing to let him serve as a form of entertainment.

        Just when Honda was thinking about getting a video camera and recording the entire scene to sell on E-bay, Ryuuji abruptly ran out of steam. At which point, he paused to glare at Honda for some form of sympathy; instead, all he got was a bemused look. Apparently, Honda was still nodding dazedly as he thought about the great quantities of money he would be making in only a short period.

        In fact, he was so self-absorbed that he didn't notice Ryuuji glowering at him angrily, an eyebrow twitching peevishly as the silence continued to stretch.

        That is, until a die was suddenly flicked at his forehead, making a rather nasty impact that immediately woke him up completely from his daydreams.

        He yelped, "What was that for?"

        "What do you _think_?!"

        Unfortunately, Honda was still not intelligent enough to keep his mouth shut despite the obvious health risks involved, "You gotta admit that it's seriously amusing… I don't think both Jyounouchi and I have ever pissed you off as much as Kaiba has in just one day… or in one morning, which is even better. But I'm sure you had plenty of fun before that, or you would've been back rather than spending the entire night there."

        Immediately, almost before he had even completed saying the last word, Ryuuji had thrown two more dice at his head. "Teme-! [9] Why do you keep doing that? I'm trying to help you!"

        "How are you helping me by making fun of me?!" Ryuuji snapped, his eyes focused on Honda even as his fingers played with another small die. Honda made very sure to keep a close eye on it, especially since Ryuuji seemed to be in a throwing mood at the moment.

        Although Honda sometimes found living with Ryuuji a more tedious affair than he could reasonably deal with, he had somehow managed to live with the self-proclaimed dice master for the past two years without causing any damage to both. The relationship had never been romantic, but merely pragmatic as this way, they could share expenses. However, despite the benefits of such a partnership, living together was a more difficult task than it seemed for Honda… on one hand, Ryuuji could be quite entertaining and it helped that he had a lot of money. Not nearly as much as Seto, certainly, but enough so that Honda could mooch off of him when he was in between jobs. But on the other hand, Ryuuji could be quite exasperating. He was flamboyant, mood swingy (resulting in Honda often wondering if he was PMSing or something like that), short-tempered, arrogant, self-absorbed, insufferable, and prone to fits of rabid violence (usually in the form of throwing small cube-ish items that hurt at impact… unfortunately for the victim, Ryuuji had obnoxiously good aim). In fact, with the exception of the flamboyant part, Ryuuji seemed to be disturbingly similar to a certain Kaiba Seto. Not that Honda would ever tell Ryuuji that, especially now. Despite what some people thought, he really did enjoy living, thank you very much.

        "It couldn't have been that bad… at least it was somebody you knew." At the contemptuous look Ryuuji gave him, Honda wished he had kept his mouth shut and allowed Ryuuji suffer in peace.

        "That was _exactly_ the problem. If it had been anything _but _Kaiba, then it wouldn't have been that bad!"

        Well, that wasn't exactly true… but if it wasn't Seto, at least Ryuuji would have been able to figure out some way afterwards to not be completely humiliated. Unlike what had happened with the CEO, for example. For some reason, Ryuuji found it difficult to stay a step ahead of Seto when it came to verbal jousting… the brunette always seemed to be capable of either not being affected or finding some way to turn things against him. It was quite attractive, really, if it wasn't for the fact that Ryuuji didn't like losing. And with Seto, he always seemed to lose more often than he won.

        "Whatever," Honda was smirking, almost as if Kaiba Seto himself had taken over his body. The eerie likeness certainly did not improve Ryuuji's mood whatsoever, but at least he was kind enough not to throw anything else at Honda's head. "Why are you so pissed off anyway? I would imagine that this wasn't the first time…."

        Ryuuji's eyebrow twitched, "What is it about all of you that makes you think that I'm sleeping around with every single guy out there?!"

        "I didn't mean it that way."

        "Well how did you mean it then?!"

        Honda wasn't really sure himself, and even if he did know he probably wouldn't have tried to explain it anyway. He had a feeling that Ryuuji was not in the most amicable of moods right then, and that he wouldn't be interested in listening to any explanations even if he asked for one.

        "I just don't know why you're so angry. You should have expected it as soon as you knew it was Kaiba," Honda explained, again never taking his eyes away from the die that Ryuuji had finally stopped playing with. "I've never seen you _this_ pissed off before… you usually tend to get over things pretty quick. Why are you obsessing so much this time? I know you don't like him, but still…."

        His voice trailed off as he searched for the right word to complete the sentence. Failing, he finally just shook his head and looked at Ryuuji expectantly, as if expecting some sort of agreement.

        There was no reply; instead, Ryuuji just stared at him levelly as if he was talking about nothing more everyday than the weather forecast.

        Then, suddenly, he pushed the chair back and left the room without a word.

        Honda didn't say anything to bring him back. He merely sat there, watching after him in a manner remarkably similar to the way that he had been watching Ryuuji before.

        Finally, he decided that there was nothing he could do for his friend at the moment, and thus chose to go back to his breakfast rather than risk more dice to the head as a reward for his attempts to help.

Commentary: 

[1] Younger brother. Usually though, older siblings will call their younger siblings by first name, rather than saying otouto or imouto.

[2] DDD, short for Dragon Dice and Dungeons, the manga name for Dungeon Dice Monsters. 

[3] Compared with Yuugi-tachi, Seto is the youngest of them all. His birthday is in October, in comparison to Yuugi (June), Jyounouchi (January), Anzu (August), Honda (April), Bakura (September), and Ryuuji (February).

[4] That is, at least, the impression I get from the manga. In the anime he tends to be a little more physical, but in the manga he just… stands around… throwing dice (does that in the anime too… XD)… looking too sexy to be true. *hisses*

[5] Shut up, bastard!

[6] In cities like Tokyo, the apartments are usually very small, resulting in many people staying out on the nights and not returning home until very early in the morning. I don't know if Domino City is like this… it seems to be a mix of close-together apartments and far-apart homes, so I decided to place Ryuuji in the more city area. I know that his game shop is quite close to Yuugi's place, but as a reminder, it burned down in the manga.

[7] *has a ball imagining _anybody_ calling Ryuuji an old man. Has a ball just imagining Ryuuji _being_ an old man. Dice Roll~!*

[8] Yes. PM is quite bitter about being short.

[9] Bastard!

        Again, many thanks to rayemars-san for helping me with this chapter… I don't know what this story would be like without your assistance. The scene about poor Ryuuji getting mugged (or at least an attempt at it) is new; the old scene was, as rayemars-san pointed out, rather cliché. ^.^ So I rewrote it while watching the Law & Order marathon and I like the result.

        Anyhow, concerning the updating schedule for this story, I don't have as much time to be writing this year. So instead of updating every week like for "Fairydust" and LTOW, I will be updating once every two weeks on Sunday. However, until the end of the application process, I may be missing update dates pretty often, so let that be a warning. I'm afraid I just won't be having as much time to spare into writing, but I will do my best to stay as regular as possible. You can check my livejournal for chapter progress (link is towards the end of my profile), although I'll tell you now that I tend to do a lot of my writing on Friday and Saturday. I'm going to try and keep from doing that this time, but who knows? :p

        ^-^ Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and see you in the next one~!

Pikachumaniac


	2. Tomadoi

Painted Sky

        ^_^ Hihi, minna! This chapter takes place on Monday, although the beginning of the chapter is an explanation of what happened on Saturday night.

        Speaking of drunkenness and general insanity, I would like to at this point recommend Triste-san's "Things We Do For Love". Yeah, yeah, I know I _never_ review these days, but that story just made me giggle too much to keep me quiet from saying anything. Although a word of advice… don't read that fic and then work on a Ryuuji fic. For some reason, I kept seeing him in a dress while I was writing chapter 3…. Oo;;

        Anyhow, since I have nothing else to say except thanks to rayemars-san for beta-reading this fic, as well as all the reviewers: Ishizu Sango Halliwell (:p Well, as long as they're good stories, it's okay that they're one-shots right?), nell (*PM gets hit by one of the randomly flying dice… itai….*), Bronze Eagle (^_^ Now if only this fic was this eager to be written…. *sweatdrops*), Tuulikki (They're second year students, which makes them about junior year here… that's what Kei-kun said at least. Anyhow, I'm sure everyone finds Seto's low tolerance of alcohol amusing… except Seto XD), Lillith7 (I must submit you to the horrors of PM's rant of "He's sooooooooo feminine! He's SOOOO girly! He's SOOOOOOO gay!" :p), Ninetails-chan (Spread the Seto/Ryuuji goodness! *dances* Brainwash the world! And I hope you loveeee your wallpapers… :p Any more requests?), Nephthys-san (YES, dedicated to you! I'm not kidding when I say this story would not have been written without you… you gave me the confidence to actually start it! And… defensive helmet? *grin*), Ashuri chan (Ryuuji: *sticks tongue out at Seto* Mwaha. I'm more important than you are. *PM twitches*), Zoo-sama (I like ramifications! It was one of the few words I learned from those vocab tests we had last year… Oo;;), and MarmaladeGirl (xp Glad you thought so!). ^_^ Arigatou, minna~!

~ Tomadoi – Bewilderment ~

        Seto would have been pleased to know that he was indeed right in blaming Ryuuji for coming onto him that fateful Saturday night, but he would not have been pleased to know that he was equally to blame for creating the means of allowing it to happen.

        What had happened, on that day, was something that neither participant could really remember. Seto, a victim of the usual bad practical jokes that seem to be especially pervasive in the most unexpected of places (the fates tended to have an uncannily ironic sense of humor), was not in the most familiar of senses due to a spiked drink (well, to be truthful, several spiked drinks). As it was known that he was liable to get drunk easily, and with the number of people who were more than willing to see the billionaire drunk and humiliated, it was really only a matter of time.

        Ryuuji, on the other hand, did not have another person to blame. Or perhaps he did, since the party was so mind-numbingly boring that there wasn't anything else to do but drink. After all, when under the influence of alcohol, it is somewhat easier to blame all mistakes on persons (or in this case, a liquid) other than oneself. Upon being unable to find anybody interested in talking about games or anything remotely interesting to the DDD inventor, he had mistakenly decided to have a drink. Just as an experiment, of course.

        So it was really only a matter of time before the two of them met up. And that, of course, was when all the trouble just randomly decided to happen.

~ * ~

        The first drink had tasted odd as soon as he took a sip, but before he could find the girl who had given him the drink she was already gone. The second drink had turned out fine, and the third drink he had gotten himself was unexplainably switched when he turned his back for a single moment.

        It struck him as odd that so many people who were supposed to be respectable liked to play such practical jokes, but by the time he realized that it was already too late. In fact, it was quite possible that he never really did realize it, but that he had known it all along. Not that it mattered now, anyway, when everything had already happened and one was at a rather unfortunate inability to do anything to reverse the course of events.

        One way or another, what happened in the end was that somehow, Kaiba Seto found himself at the bar talking to the bartender about all his woes and whatnot.

        Truly, one did have to wonder if bartenders got paid extra money for having to deal with drunken wrecks such as Seto, although there was a definite amusement factor attached to the whole thing. After all, how many people got to claim (while they were sober even) that they had seen the great CEO of KaibaCorporation acting like a complete drunk and blabbering all his important secrets?

        "He keeps whining that I don't pay him enough attention." The words were somewhat slurred but the young woman tending the bar nodded sympathetically anyway. She didn't say anything… there was no need for her to. Seto wasn't looking for conversation… no, he was looking for somebody to talk to. And it was just as well that the somebody he had chosen was the person who could keep giving him more to drink, which meant that he was going to have more to talk about. Well, technically, he didn't have anymore to talk about than he did before the drinks. It just happened to be that his tongue was made looser, which meant that he was going to be talking about things he normally never talked about.

        "How does that work?" a new voice interrupted, and both turned to see Ryuuji sitting there with an expression that seemed to be a mix between a sympathetic look and goofy smile (which, in short, ended up becoming something completely indistinguishable and downright horrifying). "You can't stand to leave that kid alone, if what Honda says really is true. Although knowing him, it's very much debatable."

        Seto blinked, and as soon as the six Ryuuji's had shrunken down to a more reasonable two (nobody had said that Ryuuji didn't have a twin brother), he asked with a rather incredulous tone, "Otogi?"

        "Cheers," Ryuuji grinned as he held up his glass. "Although frankly I'm surprised that you haven't forgotten about all of us already."

        Kaiba frowned as he slowly took in the details. For example, he noticed with some vague interest that despite the party being formal dress, Ryuuji was still wearing the clothes that he more or less wore everyday. The information came slower than it usually did, mind, but at least he managed to get his brain to function properly in the end.

        Finally, "Are you drunk?"

        A short laugh, "No more than you are, Kaiba."

        "I'm not drunk."

        Ryuuji shrugged, not interested in the topic enough to pursue it any further, "Whatever you want to believe. I'm not going to try and point the obvious out to you."

        "And what's that supposed to mean?"

        "Whatever you want to believe."

        "You're really annoying, you know that?"

        "I live to serve."

        "Serve yourself, you mean," Seto snorted as he turned away.

        Most people, even the drunk ones, would be intelligent enough to realize that this was a sign that they had been dismissed and thus it would be in their best interests to move away quickly. More to the point though, was that Ryuuji was apparently not such an intelligent person because the only thing he did was continue to pester the billionaire despite the curt rejection of his undoubtedly pleasant and witty company. Of course, that was not a very polite thing to say about the black-haired man… perhaps he was merely too stubborn to be so blatantly waved off.

        Whatever the reason, whatever the case, Ryuuji did not leave. Instead, he continued to sit there, watching the brunette with an expression that clearly seemed to say 'What is _your_ problem?'. It was a very common expression for Ryuuji, although often times it seemed that people were giving _him_ the look rather than it being the other way around.

        Finally, he spoke up.

        "That's not very nice, Kaiba. Especially since I was only trying to be friendly," he complained, green eyes focusing on Seto in a hawk-like way. Whether or not it was meant to be intimidating, the only impression it gave at the moment was one amusing enough to cause Seto to turn and fix Ryuuji with one of his menacing glares.

        "Your friendship is not one that I would welcome," he spoke simply before turning away again.

        "See what kind of a person he is? No wonder his brother is always complaining," Ryuuji grumbled to the bartender, who had been watching the conversation from a safe distance. It had been in her experience that when placing two seemingly incompatible personalities together, glasses tended to be broken and injuries sustained by innocent parties.

        Of course, the guilty participants were _never_ hurt.

        She nodded shakily before somebody called to her, and she gratefully fled. Ryuuji couldn't help but scowl at that; apparently, his usual oozing charm had failed to work on her.

        "What do you mean by that?" Seto growled without ever looking at Ryuuji.

        Since he could not leave matters alone, Ryuuji was more than delighted to enlighten Seto, "You're so cold, you know? You push everyone away, no matter how hard they try to get close to you. You probably don't mean to do it to your own brother, but how can you change your personality when it's so deeply engrained in you?"

        The whole speech might have sounded more promising and deep if it had not been for the fact that Ryuuji was swaying throughout the entire thing. For one who had never experimented with the drink, Ryuuji certainly had taken his little test a little too far.

        A long silence followed his proclamation, and for a moment Seto looked ready to punch him. Ryuuji wasn't very worried though… Seto was usually restrained enough to keep from doing such foolish things. Unlike people like Jyounouchi, for example, who had no self-restraint whatsoever.

        Unfortunately, Ryuuji was wrong on that count. Seto _did_ usually have enough restraint to keep himself from reacting to such barbs, but that was when he was clear-minded. However, Seto currently wasn't clear-minded, so it was only a matter of time before Seto had walked over to Ryuuji with a rather infuriated look on his face.

        He wasn't, however, infuriated enough to fail in noticing how Ryuuji was rather attractive… for a flamboyant and extremely annoying young man. His eyes were a pretty shade of green and the long black locks of hair seemed to frame his face perfectly. Everything seemed to be about opposites with the inventor, such as the red hair band that he _still_ wore which contrasted with his eyes. 

        If he was wise, Ryuuji might have kept his mouth shut. Instead, the malicious little imp who apparently controlled his mouth continued to force words through his throat with startling audacity, "I guess you didn't like that, hmm? Can't deal with the truth, can you?"

        "Everyone knows that half the things which come out of your mouth are not worth listening to in the first place," was the clenched reply. "Don't push it, Otogi."

        "Push what? Your many, many buttons?" Ryuuji had a very self-satisfied smirk on his face. "You seem to have that problem pretty often, don't you?"

        "Only because people like you exist in this world."

        "But what fun will there be if people like me _didn't_ exist?"

        "A much quieter one, to start it off. It would take me too long to list everything."

        "Come on, Kaiba. You like me." The grin on Ryuuji's face was definitely coming off now as blatantly suggestive. Not that it was saying much, especially when neither of the conversationalists could be exactly sure what he was trying to blatantly suggest. And of course, this was not to imply that he was not being blatantly suggestive. He was… it was just that they weren't clear-minded enough to realize what he was trying to suggest although that didn't stop them from noticing in the first place that he was being blatantly suggestive.

        Essentially, the point was that neither had very much common sense at the moment, which was something that was not going to be acting in their favor in the moments to come.

        Seto didn't reply to the most definitely ridiculous comment. He settled, instead, for taking a sip of his drink, a fuzzy part of his brain noticing as he did so that there was a funny taste in his supposedly non-alcoholic drink.

        He was, in fact, so absorbed in his drink that he didn't even notice what Ryuuji was going to do until that something had been accomplished. Mainly by the raven-haired man draping himself on the brunette, a position that was decidedly uncomfortable and extraordinarily difficult to ignore.

        His eyebrow twitched, but he didn't have the sense to shove him off, "What do you think you're doing, Otogi?"

        "Being friendly. It's something you never do," Ryuuji replied as he stuck his tongue out, a fake pout on his face. To be truthful, he was also pretty surprised that Seto hadn't shoved him off, although that fear of being rejected had not prevented him from acting so foolishly in the first place. "Don't try to tell me that you don't enjoy my company, Kaiba. _Everyone_ enjoys my company!"

        "Everyone? Hm," was the distracted reply, even as a little part of his brain (the part that was extremely drunk and had absolutely no control over what its mangled ramblings came out as) screamed out quite happily, 'And I can see why!'. He ignored that part of his brain… didn't even hear it, in fact. "You certainly do get around."

        "As I said," was the light reply as Ryuuji continued to give him a goofy grin, "I only live to serve."

~ * ~

        Things had progressed quite rapidly from that point on, and it wasn't long before the two were completely wasted. And thus it wasn't long before the two emerged from the party, drunk and astonishingly ecstatic about their current relationship.

        It was, as mentioned before, Ryuuji who had made the suggestion, a suggestion that was so blatant and to the point that even a drunk Kaiba Seto could not fail to understand what he was saying. A drunk Kaiba Seto could, however, fail to note the consequences of the suggestion, and an equally drunk Otogi Ryuuji could fail to stop the rapid deterioration of bad to worse very quickly.

        Instead, Seto found the suggestion extremely appealing, especially when considering who the suggestion was coming from. Sure, Ryuuji was a rather ostentatious flirt, but he had rejected every single proposal for a date except one, and that one had been from a long time ago. But now, with common sense thrown conveniently out the window and into the swimming pool, it was remarkably easy to get a proposal accepted.

        It didn't take very long for Seto to find his chauffeur, and it took even less time for them to get into the car. The chauffeur, for his part, did not make any comments to his employer, although he did fix them both with a long, hard stare that was promptly ignored.

        Later, he supposed that it might have turned out better if he had commented on the situation rather than just letting it happen. Perhaps if he had questioned Seto when he learned that they only had _one_ destination but two people, nothing would have occurred and Seto wouldn't currently be stomping through the mansion as if he was still deliberately trying to make the entire building fall apart around him.

        However, it was too late for 'perhaps', and the damage had been done. He had driven Seto and Ryuuji back to the Kaiba Mansion, and then spent the entire night trying to convince himself that the two of them were more grown-up than they seemed and that drunk or not, they wouldn't do anything foolish.

        Apparently, that had not happened, judging from the screaming that had rocked the entire place yesterday morning. It hadn't taken long for Ryuuji to leave, and about twenty minutes for Seto to seek him out with some very curt orders.

        He'd been relatively bewildered when Seto (dripping hair and all… apparently he had spent those twenty minutes taking a very long shower) had told him to find Ryuuji and take him home, but he had obeyed without questioning the command. He doubted that Seto felt any actual concern for the raven-haired man, especially considering the loud argument that everyone within a three-mile radius could hear without even straining their ears. He supposed it might have something to do with how Seto didn't want to deal with the possibility of a lawsuit if Ryuuji got into any trouble on the way home… a likely thing, especially since this was Otogi Ryuuji. Anything could happen when he was involved… in fact, he would not have been surprised if the two young men he found trying to rob the inventor had secretly been trying to recruit him for a pornographic video [1]. _That_ was how problematic Ryuuji was, and why Seto was very intelligent in sending somebody after him.

        It did not, could not, and would not ever be because Seto cared for Ryuuji. _That_ was a fact, and nothing in the world would ever change it.

~ * ~

        Knowing that, however, was not helping Kaiba Seto at the moment. Even though he had spent the past day trying to get past that morning's events, he had long ago realized that unless he came to terms with what had happened, he wouldn't be succeeding.

        "Kaiba-sama?"

        Seto didn't turn to face the other man, didn't even bother to answer. There was no need; his companion knew that he was listening… he always seemed to listen.

        "I'll bring the car out front."

        There was still no reply, but again, no need to wait for one. By the time Seto turned around to leave, the driver was already gone and he was alone with his thoughts. His thoughts, which he currently wished he could beat senseless and leave outside to shrivel up into nothingness from the rays of the sun, continued to run around in dizzying circles around his mind.

        He didn't know why he was having so many problems accepting what had happened. Perhaps it was because it was… well, Ryuuji. Not that he could really say there was something particularly wrong with Ryuuji… well, there was, but he could say that about almost everyone on the planet. Was there something particular about Ryuuji that made the situation more difficult to ignore, or would the same thing have happened with anybody?

        He didn't know, and he told himself that he didn't care.

        It helped that he didn't know all the facts… the entire situation. It made the whole thing seem more like a hoax rather than an actual event that they had both willingly participated in… well, as willingly as one could when he was flat out drunk. He doubted if Ryuuji knew either, despite the raging accusations that had been made by both.

        He also found himself wondering if Ryuuji even cared anymore.

        This caused him to purse his lips as he continued to glare out the window, resisting the urge to just lash out and break it. But what was the point of that? It wouldn't solve any of his problems or cure his thoughts, and all it would leave him with were cut up hands, medical bills, and a broken window. Not to mention the unneeded stress of having Mokuba haunt his every step demanding to know what was wrong with him, as if somehow he could solve all the problems.

        He wondered what Mokuba would say if he knew about the incident… what he would do and how would he react. Would he be shocked? Sympathetic? Disturbed or perhaps even disgusted?

        The last thought was immediately discarded, although not with great reluctance. Mokuba knew about his sexual orientation… heck, everyone knew about it, although most people tended to ignore it. He tried to ignore it himself, most of the time, trying to forget the rather humiliating experience between him and the pharaoh's spirit.

        It hadn't been that big a deal… sure, he wasn't comfortable knowing that he was equally attracted to girls and guys alike, but he had dealt with it as well as the supposedly ice-hearted billionaire could. But then the pharaoh had come along and changed all of that by somehow making Seto attracted to _him_.

        _That_ was something Seto could certainly do without.

        At the time though, it wasn't. And it wasn't until Yami no Yuugi had, by the most freakish twist of fate, gotten together with the former thief that Seto was finally allowed to put those disturbing thoughts to rest.

        But the memory still lingered… the memory of all those unwanted feelings and hopes that were so foolish from the very beginning. It was something that he hated to remember, but he also hated the thought of forgetting it and falling into such a horrendous trap again.

        Until that morning, he'd thought he was over it. It had been several years, after all, and many things had changed. Yami no Yuugi probably didn't even know who he was anymore, too busy with Yami no Bakura and the usual saving the world (or really his omote [2]… honestly, Yuugi got into quite a bit of trouble for a single person) to deal with a rival who didn't have time for him as well. And as for himself, he had found himself something to distract himself… a girlfriend. One he liked, thank you very much… at first a distraction but now more than that.

        Certainly, he held no fantasies that he had completely altered his preferences, but still… he thought he had gotten _over_ it. Pushed it aside. Moved on. The usual.

        And then, for the oddest reason, everything had come flooding back. Even though the event had nothing to do with the pharaoh, it still… well, he wasn't sure what was going on. He just wasn't sure why he cared anymore.

        Biting his lip, scowling at the window, at his reflection which glared back at him without any emotion in those cold blue eyes… he shook his head and finally turned around to walk out of the room.

        As he did so, he did the same exact thing that Ryuuji did as _he_ had walked out of the mansion a little over twenty-four hours ago.

        He promised himself that he would never think about last night's events again.

~ * ~

        The green-eyed man sighed as he stared into the mirror. It looked like he hadn't gotten enough sleep last night, even though he had tried his best. It might have been that he was jumpy about the upcoming convention, but that was a lie and he pretty much knew it without someone even pointing out the discrepancies to him.

        "You didn't get enough sleep last night, did you?" Honda's voice suddenly said, but Ryuuji didn't bother to turn around to face him. Instead, he just scowled, still extremely bitter over what had happened yesterday morning, and Honda could see it from the mirror. Ryuuji could also see the smirk on Honda's face, and he resisted the urge to turn around and pummel his housemate to the ground.

        "No," Ryuuji replied shortly.

        "I have sleeping pills if you want."

        Ryuuji raised an eyebrow, although he still didn't bother to turn around as he started to comb his hair, "You are being surprisingly nice today, Honda."

        "Do you doubt my intentions?"

        "Just the tiniest."

        "Well, believe whatever you want," Honda replied loftily as he sat down on Ryuuji's bed, watching his friend take care of his appearance with the usual precision and care. Ryuuji was quite good at hiding his emotions when he really wanted to, and if Honda hadn't known him as well as he did, he might have actually believed that Ryuuji really had gotten past everything that had happened the prior day. "I'm just trying to help you."

        "Just like you were trying to help me yesterday, hmm?"

        "I was!"

        Ryuuji rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath, but Honda couldn't catch what he said. He pretty much knew, however, that whatever Ryuuji was saying at the moment, it definitely wasn't something that was extremely flattering.

        However, Honda couldn't exactly take the hint and he continued to let his mouth run without his mind to keep it in constant check.

        "So… ever think about getting a boyfriend?"

        Ryuuji abruptly stopped pulling his hair up in a ponytail at Honda's sudden question, and he turned to stare at the brunette with a look of absolute disbelief, "What?!"

        "Well, I think that your little experiment was a sign," Honda smirked at the absolutely shocked expression on his friend's face, "that you need to get laid, I mean."

        "_What_?!"

        Before Honda could explain… not to imply that Ryuuji would have bothered to listen to any explanation that he could possibly have for such a… a… a _horrible_ comment, Ryuuji had thrown two dice at him. The first one missed, but the second one hit him squarely in the face, and he yelped as he fell back, knocking his head against the wall as he did so. His harried mind screamed, demanding to know how Ryuuji could have so many dice with him at every moment of every day… did he keep them on his dresser? In his pockets? In… in… Honda didn't even want to think about the possibilities!

        "What the _hell_ are you thinking?!" Ryuuji shrieked.

        "I was just suggesting…."

        "Am I really that annoying if I'm not getting laid?!" he continued to scream, his raven-black hair falling into his face messily. "Is that the problem? Huh?!"

        "I didn't say that!"

        "But you implied it!"

        "I didn't say anything of the sort!"

        "Oh shut up!" Ryuuji snapped, his hand clenched around the hairbrush that he had been using only moments before. Honda was amazed to see that Ryuuji had never let go of the comb the entire time, and he also made a mental note to make sure not to aggravate Ryuuji to the point where he was throwing objects of a more substantial size at him.

        "It was just a suggestion…."

        "A completely unnecessary one," was the angry reply as Ryuuji turned away, returning to the important task of combing his hair.

        Seeing that, Honda couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief at that… by returning to the task at hand, it appeared that Ryuuji wouldn't be throwing anything else at him. Well, hopefully… Ryuuji tended to be rather unpredictable, and it was hard to tell what he was going to do without some type of warning.

        "It was just a suggestion!" he repeated desperately, as if by doing so he might be able to turn the clock back so that Ryuuji didn't throw things at him so often.

        "And I didn't appreciate it."

        "You could have just said that. There wasn't exactly any need to throw things at me!"

        The only reply he got was a very even stare, and he shook his head in frustration, "It isn't my fault you made such a stupid mistake and ended up sleeping with Kaiba. The only person you can blame that for is yourself and Kaiba, but you don't know for sure."

        Ryuuji didn't stop in the furious brushing of his hair, although it almost looked like the comb was going to break if his movements got anymore furious.

        "What are you trying to say, Honda?" his voice was icy cold, a tone that Honda had only heard before from… well, Kaiba Seto, of course.

        Honda frowned and finally said what had been on his mind ever since he had come across Ryuuji abusing his pillow, "Stop blaming me for what happened to you. Stop blaming other people! Jeez, can't you just live with it and move on? It happened! Big deal! I'm sure Kaiba doesn't care anymore… why should you? It was a mistake… don't spend the rest of your life moping over it. It doesn't change anything."

        "I'm not moping," Ryuuji hissed.

        "Well, it sure looks like that," Honda replied nastily as he got up, massaging his forehead even while he started to walk out of the room. "You better hurry up, Otogi… when you're ready I'll drive you over to the convention on my way to work. Maybe you should take some of the time you usually spend on your hair to think about what I just said, eh?"

        He hadn't really meant to sound so cruel, but by that point he didn't really care. He had spent a little too much time being stuck with Ryuuji, and he honestly didn't think that he could handle it anymore without blowing a fuse. Which was more or less what he had just done… but that was a different story (he wasn't sure how that was a different story, but he was convinced that it was so he chose to leave it at that).

        Ryuuji, on the other hand, didn't do what he wanted to do. He was tempted to, truly… tempted to just blow up at Honda but it seemed like he had already done that and it apparently did not have much of an affect on the brunette. And there really was no point in blowing up again if there hadn't been any use the first time, was there? Sure, it would make him feel better… but it would only be temporary and he figured that it wasn't a good thing to get the person who was providing you with rides for an indefinite period of time really pissed off at you.

        So he kept his thoughts to himself, a rare show of self-control, and just watched as Honda left the room, slamming the door behind him. Honda didn't tend to get so angry like that, but… well, maybe he had been just a bit of a pain to live with.

        Just a bit though.

        Not that he would ever tell Honda that, he thought to himself very definitely as he finally managed to pull his hair up. There were just some things that you would never admit to even the person who you considered to be your closest friend… and while this shouldn't have been one of them, the rules of friendship did tend to differ depending on who was making the rules.

        Ryuuji liked to make up the rules of a game. He didn't like to change them halfway through, so he always made sure that the rules were in his favor before he ever bothered to start in the first place. Of course, he didn't look at _everything_ like a game… but sometimes, you could think of them as one.

        And once you started thinking of things on those types of terms… he fumbled with his hair band as he struggled to think of a way to finish that thought.

        Much to his disconcertment, by the time he left the apartment twenty minutes later, he still hadn't thought of any way to complete the sentence.

~ * ~

        Honda was surprised when Ryuuji apologized for his behavior, and the conversation that followed the sudden apology managed to be neutral and not at all upsetting to either of the two men. Honda could admit, privately at least, that he had been a bit of an ass when he had suddenly asked Ryuuji if he was planning on getting a boyfriend, but otherwise he didn't really feel any guilt for what had happened. Ryuuji made no indication to the otherwise, so both figured that the rather nasty argument they'd had that morning was behind them.

        To be truthful, if one had asked him, Honda would have said that he thought Ryuuji was just nervous about the convention, rather than actually being repentant of his prior actions. Ryuuji was not prone to apologies, and he usually didn't think that he was wrong even when it was extremely apparent. Still, whatever the circumstances, Honda accepted them and never bothered to look back.

        And if one was to ask Ryuuji the same question later, he might have replied in the same exact way. He was indeed nervous, although he wasn't sure why. Easily, his company was the smallest of the participants, but was that really any reason to be nervous? He had been extremely successful, all things considered, especially with the huge setback he had received when the Black Crown had burned down shortly after its opening [3]. Not that he was particularly saddened by the event; he had finally managed to get away from his father and become more independent. It was almost a miracle that he had still managed to get his game up and running on his own, and so he really shouldn't have had any reason to be anxious.

        Besides, it just wasn't _like_ him.

        Most people who knew him probably would have laughed if they had seen him at that moment. They would have thought it was a joke, or just an act, rather than it being real. But truthfully, Ryuuji was nervous… he was worried about making some type of hideous mistake that would set him back a couple of years. DDD was successful, yes, but any little road bumps and he could find himself in some makeshift hell for a long period of time.

        Although he might have already completely destroyed his reputation after what had happened on Saturday night… he was pretty sure that nobody could possibly have not noticed that, even if he himself didn't remember all the details of what had transpired.

        Still, head held high and the usual gracious smile on his lips, Ryuuji strode into the building as if he had suddenly shed all the burdens that had been trying to hold him back and nothing could possibly stop him now. What was in the past was… well, in the past, and besides, Honda was right. He shouldn't waste his time thinking about what had happened. It was too late to change anything, so he might as well learn to live with his mistake.

        The smile slid right off his face when he found himself staring into all too familiar blue eyes.

Commentary:

[1] --;; I'm sorry, rayemars-san. I couldn't resist.

[2] Japanese term for the host of the Sennen item spirits (although technically Yami no Malik isn't a spirit…); basically, it's just a collective term for Yuugi, Ryou, and Malik.

[3] Volume 17; when Ryuuji's father, Mr. Clown, tried to put the Sennen puzzle back together, the puzzle created an illusion of him being trapped in an endless puzzle maze. Scared, Mr. Clown accidentally knocked over a candle, causing the entire game shop to burn up.

        Well… this chapter took me a while to write. X_x I kept getting stuck on the scene where Seto was doing his little bout of introspection, but I finally managed it… and it didn't help that I got sidetracked by other fics too. ^^;;

        Anyhow, not much for me to say again. Wow, this story is sure short on author notes, isn't it? :p

        See you all in two weeks! ^_^

Pikachumaniac


	3. Wamekitateru to Wameku

Painted Sky

        ^.^ This chapter was giving me a bit of trouble, so I combined it with the next chapter. It takes place on Monday, picking up directly after the last chapter. ^-~

        Also, I don't know why I'm recommending so many fics right now, but I _command_ you to go read Neko-baka-chan-chan's "150 Miles". *tries to look imposing, fails* Pretty please?

        Many thanks to rayemars-san for her lurvely beta-reading, as well as Ishizu Sango Halliwell (^____^ Hey, reviews are nice in general… *huggle*), MarmaladeGirl (I never did mention how many years after Battle City this was… mainly for the reason that I wasn't sure. But it is several years after college… so maybe six or seven years after Battle City would be a good guess… ^_^), Anime Girl Sasami (*tackle… glomp… maullllllll* Did I ever, ever, ever tell you how much I like your reviews? No? No? Well, I will do that now. I never knew so much good could come out of AP English! *runs away from James Joyce… ahhhhh* :) Thanks for all your nice reviews… they really brighten my day. ^.^), Ninetails-chan (Honda: I do put up with a lot! I should get a Nobel prize or something! Ryuuji: *throws lots of dice*), Bronze Eagle (*huggle* Daijoubu, daijoubu! And yes, he's still together with his girlfriend… who is an original character. *blush* Yesh, yesh… an OC. The terrible plague! *gets mauled by Mary-Sues* AHHHHH~!), and Alana Hikari-Chan (Ryuuji: *wailing* It's not funny!! I'm always uke! PM: *bangs head against desk*). ^_^ Arigatou, minnaaaa~!

~ Wamekitateru to Wameku (Rant and Rave) ~

        There comes a time in everyone's life, or so it seems, that everything seems to go wrong at the same exact time. It's almost as if every fate ever in existence randomly decided to form a coalition in order to make one (or in this particular case, two) person's life an absolutely misery, and they usually manage to do a pretty good job. Sometimes though, it happens a lot more often than one wished or deserved… well, even if it happens only once, it's usually already once too many for the poor victim who has to suffer the many consequences….

~ * ~

        _I can't believe this is happening_, the two of them thought to themselves at the same exact time. Which was a bit odd, really, since both of them should have fully been expecting this situation to happen sooner or later. Even if it had not come during the seminar, the two of them would have met eventually. Still, that did not make the current circumstances any easier, and now they could only stare at each other with a vague expression of shock on their faces.

        "You…."

        In a way, neither could be sure who was the one who had even uttered the word, but either way it caused both of them to suddenly snap back to reality. Immediately, Ryuuji's emerald-green eyes darkened and the raven-haired man looked about ready to spit fire, while Seto's crystal-blue eyes just darkened as his demeanor became icy cold.

        Not to imply that it wasn't always that way.

        "What the hell are you doing here?" Ryuuji snarled, his hands clenching into fists as he resisted the urge to just jump on the brunette and pummel him senseless. Probably the only thing that prevented him from doing that was the knowledge that first of all, it wouldn't look very good for him to try and beat up a billionaire who could make his life a living hell in the middle of a group of billionaires who could also make his life a living hell. And secondly, Seto was much more capable of beating him up than him beating up Seto, which basically meant that he would probably fail and just get quite a few bruises for his troubles.

        "What the hell do you mean what _I'm_ doing here?" Seto replied frigidly, looking ready to turn away. "I paid the same amount of money as you did, and perhaps even more since you're the one with the financial problems."

        "What do you mean by that?!"

        Seto raised an eyebrow as he elaborated on the previous comment, "If I had known you were so poor so that you weren't even capable of affording a taxi to take you home, then I would have had somebody drive you home in the first place. Which, I am sure, you are ever so grateful for."

        "For god's sake, Kaiba, I forgot my wallet! Honda's the one who drove me here in the first place, so it's not like I actually needed a taxi!"

        "Hm."

        Ryuuji resisted the urge to scream and attempt to pull out Seto's tongue with a pair of hot tongs. He hated, absolutely _hated_ Seto's little one-worded answers… although 'word' wasn't even the right way to describe the grunts that the brunette made. It was almost as if despite the fact that Seto didn't really have any way to respond intelligently to what was being told to him, he could just make an arrogant little sound which _seemed_ to imply that he was in full control of the situation. Which he was, in a way, but that just made Ryuuji hate it more.

        "You didn't answer my question," he finally pointed out, still not quite willing to drop the topic that they were previously on before they had suddenly gone off on a random tangent about his financial assets. Which, by the way, were plenty, thank you _very_ much.

        "What question? The rhetorical one you made in order to point out the obvious?" Seto returned his question with another question, and Ryuuji again had the most sudden urge to slap him. Just for kicks, of course.

        "That's not what I meant, and you know it!" Ryuuji snapped. "I know what you're doing here! But I'm asking what you're doing _here_, as in here!" He waved his arms in exasperation, as if that would help to convey his point. Although maybe if he put a little more effort into flapping his arms like that, he might be able to defy gravity and fly away from this whole mess before any more humiliating experiences could search him out for entertainment purposes only.

        "Otogi-kun," Seto stared at him, never taking his eyes off of his shorter… companion didn't really seem to be the right word, perhaps annoyance would serve better, "Despite what you may think, not everyone can understand your personally created language of winks, hip shaking, and so on."

        "Why you…" Ryuuji would have lunged at Seto if the brunette hadn't suddenly grabbed his wrists, as if he had fully anticipated what had been going through Ryuuji's mind. An angry scowl made its way onto his face, and the raven-haired man looked about ready to blow a fuse.

        "Don't lose your temper so easily, Otogi-kun. You might end up hurting yourself that way," Seto smirked, although he didn't release his captive.

        Ryuuji turned quite red at this, and he jerked away. Unfortunately, Seto still hadn't quite let go of him, so all he ended up doing was hurting his wrists.

        The smirk on Seto's face grew larger, but this time Ryuuji also plastered a smile onto his own face as he looked directly into Seto's eyes, trying to keep his expression as innocent as possible.

        "My god, Seto, if I had known you wanted to be so close to me, you should have told me rather than resorting to this crude behavior," he purred. It came of no complete shock when Seto immediately let go and practically jumped back, almost as if he was afraid that Ryuuji had some type of virus that would infect the brunette if he kept hold of him any longer. Although considering the way people were staring at them now, the thought wasn't that far from the truth. The last thing he needed, really, was for rumors to start circulating tying him together with the raven-haired _idiot_ who was smiling triumphantly at him.

        "Bakayarou," Seto hissed before turning away.

        "Why thank you darling," Ryuuji snapped sarcastically as he watched Seto start to walk away. He didn't flinch when Seto stopped in his tracks, his shoulders visibly stiffening as the words completely sank in. "I'll have to remind you of that the next time you come on to me."

        For once, Ryuuji truly had succeeded in making Seto's cold and seemingly uncaring demeanor break, but he couldn't help but wish that Seto hadn't broken in the way he did.

        "I did not come on to you!" the brunette practically roared, the single sentence causing practically every single person in the room to stare at the two.

        Normally, in a different situation that didn't involve some of the most powerful business leaders in Domino City, Ryuuji would have attempted to come up with a witty and amusing answer to mess around with Seto's mind. After all, it was a pretty rare opportunity… one that he truly wished could be conveniently moved to next week when it was less potentially embarrassing for both of them. This time, however, Ryuuji just kept his tongue in cheek, shooting Seto a cocky grin before walking away himself, as calmly as he could with the knowledge that Seto might come after him to pummel him senseless.

        He was pretty sure that Seto wouldn't, but he didn't want to stick around in case Seto suddenly decided to prove him wrong in the most painful way possible. So, as casually as he possibly could so as not to appear extremely suspicious, he quickened his pace in order to get out of Seto's hitting range.

        He could still feel the icy blue eyes burning holes into his back.

~ * ~

        Twenty minutes later, Seto decided that if he could ever find a way to sue fate, he _would_.

        The seminar had begun as most seminars usually did… a speaker came along, lectured them about how happy he was that everybody had paid a great deal of money to hear him talk about absolutely nothing in particular, and then shooed them off to figure things out on their own. Although, since he couldn't do just that and justify taking their money, he had the brilliant idea to pair up people so that they could figure things out _and_ learn about somebody else at the same time. Supposedly, the idea was something about bonding and hopefully getting business advice, but one of the pairs weren't very happy.

        Currently, Seto was glowering at the wall, his back straight and as stiff as a board. Sitting next to him, Ryuuji was facing the other direction, all his attentions currently focused on his fingernails. Not that he was wondering if he could grow out his nails before filing them into points in order to cut short the life of a certain conceited brunette sitting next to him. Why would you ever think of a thing like that?

        Every once in a while, some friendly people would visit all the different groups in order to check up on their progress. Up to this point, every single one of those friendly people had been conspicuously staying as far away as they could from the CEO and game inventor, probably finding it in their best interest to keep a distance if they wished to keep all their body parts intact.

        The seconds stretched into minutes, but still the two refused to look at each other. Seto continued to study the wall with extreme fascination, although one would have suspected that he had simply fallen asleep. It was a wonder that Seto could do as much as he usually did in a normal day, and it would have come of no surprise to anyone if the blue-eyed billionaire had conveniently learned to sleep with his eyes open.

        After all, one did have to get _something_ out of school.

        Ryuuji growled as he tapped his foot on the ground, drumming his fingers on the desktop as he thought about how much money he had wasted in order to be stuck with an idiotic rival. Although… to be technically correct, Ryuuji and Seto weren't really rivals. They occupied completely separate spheres when it came to business, and besides, Ryuuji had always figured that Seto got enough competition simply from trying to defeat the spirit of the Sennen Puzzle.

        Of course, Yami no Yuugi had been a bit busy lately in his relationship with Yami no Bakura, a romance that boggled the minds of every single person who knew the two spirits. When the pharaoh had started going missing every night for a month, Yuugi had been absolutely convinced that Yami was doing anything from crime fighting to working as a prostitute [1]. And it wasn't until Ryou had come home from a month-long study in Europe only to find the two spirits getting it on in his kitchen that the truth finally came out.

        That, of course, had led to a huge screaming fit in which Ryou had suddenly managed to lock the door to his bedroom before Yami no Bakura could charge in there to steal the phone he was going to use to call Yuugi.

        Even Anzu, who had been watching a movie with Yuugi, could hear the screams.

        It had taken a while for Ryou to calm down long enough for Yuugi to figure out what had happened, and they had a brief distraction when Ryou had literally thrown himself out the window in order to avoid the wrath of two angry spirits when they finally managed to break down the door. But eventually, Yami and Yami no Bakura had been forced to come to grips with the fact that their hosts knew exactly what was going on with the two of them, and Yuugi-tachi had come to grips with the idea that the two people who seriously hated each other the most could somehow end up in the bedroom together without tearing out each other's throats (witnesses were a different story).

        It was a strange situation that had resulted from the coupling, but perhaps it wasn't that strange. The two spirits didn't exactly know of anybody except the people in the group and other duelists… and in both their minds, all other duelists were prey to be beaten down. And although they had been able to gain their own bodies, the two of them were essentially the only ones of their kind, and perhaps the only ones that were truly capable of understanding each other.

        And they weren't the only ones who had found relationships inside the close knit group. Yuugi had, of course, gotten together with Anzu, while Jyounouchi had been found out having an affair with Mai that had led to something much more intimate. Any romantic notions, however, that had been gained from the relationship did not extend far enough include being very open to the idea that his sister was in an equally intimate relationship as he was. And even that might have been a little kind, especially considering how Yuugi and Ryuuji practically had to chain him to the wall when Shizuka had given him the news.

        Ryou, on the other hand, had found a nice guy who somehow managed not to be scared off by a psychotic spirit and a person's tendency to die multiple times [2]. Ryuuji personally suspected that Yami had a hand in keeping Yami no Bakura from sending a shadow monster after Ryou's boyfriend… for someone who ragged on Ryou so much, Yami no Bakura sure could be protective….

        "Is something the matter here?"

        Two sets of eyes blinked as they both turned to look at the speaker, at the same time carefully making sure they didn't look at each other.

        "Yes, Kuroyama-san?" Seto asked icily, the honorific attached to the name sounding more than slightly strained. Ryuuji was also frowning, annoyed at being interrupted from his little disjointed thought process. Since, of course, his thoughts prior to the interruption had just been _so_ fascinating.

        "Is there a problem?" Kuroyama asked again, albeit a bit more impatiently this time. Not that he really had any reason to be impatient or annoyed, really, since either way he was still going to get paid the same amount of money regardless of if people chose to participate in the activities or not. But he supposed that since he was being paid, he might as well carry out his duty and try to attempt to feign interest in the well-being of the participants.

        "Of course not," Ryuuji muttered, every word from his lips dripping with sarcasm. This prompted the speaker to give him a very odd look, and Ryuuji could have sworn that he backed away a couple of steps. Not that he actually cared… his personal space was not something to be invaded, and Kuroyama had been getting a bit too close for comfort.

        "You don't need to take out your anger on unsuspecting innocents just because you're feeling so insecure about yourself, Otogi."

        "I am not feeling insecure, you stupid bas…."

        Kuroyama would have sweatdropped but that wouldn't have been very professional, so he settled on giving both of them a long, stern gaze.

        "Now, let's try to keep a civil tone when we're…."

        "Civil? Him?!" Ryuuji's voice had reached that high pitch which always made Seto cringe. "Do you even know what that means anymore, Kaiba?!"

        "Enough not to go around flaunting my good looks, unlike a certain other unnamed person."

        "Well you can just take that civility and shove it up your…."

        "Language, Otogi."

        "Gentlemen!" (To be completely truthful, the speaker wasn't completely sure if that's what he should call them, especially when one considered their current behavior. It was hard to believe that the two arguing with each other could be adults, rather than just two extremely immature and belligerent teenagers.

        "Look who's talking."

        "It never occurred to me that you could long beyond your nose."

        "What a coincidence; I always did feel the same way about you, Kaiba."

        "Since when did you turn into a walking cliché machine?"

        "Well, considering how you seem to be under the misconception that every single original saying can be attributed back to you, it's no wonder that everything seems to sound secondhand."

        "Excuse me!" Kuroyama was practically screaming by this point, but his effort did no good. Neither of the people he was yelling out were bothering to listen to him; in fact, it practically seemed that neither of them even knew that he was there trying to speak to them in the first place.

        "Don't you have somebody to go flirt with?"

        "Don't _you_ have somebody to go dump?"

        "Slut."

        "You're not exactly a model of virtue yourself. After all, it's not like I dragged you to your _own_ mansion while you were kicking and screaming."

        "I'm sure you took care of the screaming part."

        "_What?!_"

        "That's the rumor that's going around at least."

        "Listen…." Kuroyama tried again, but once again his feeble attempts to get a word in edgewise were completely drowned out by Ryuuji's shriek.

        "What the _hell are you talking about?!_"

        "I think you know perfectly well what I'm talking about. I mean, they do say that every rumor has a grain of truth in it… although this might be much more than just…."

        "All right!" Kuroyama finally roared, causing both of them to jump as they glanced over at him with just a hint of shock in their eyes. "I've had enough of you two and your argument. This is supposed to be an orderly, intelligent matter, not a circus. If you have any problems, keep them _outside_ instead of wasting both your time and ours. Now, either you two be civil to one another or both of you are free to _leave_."

        There was a long silence as the two of them glared at him before they suddenly managed to catch each other's eyes. Immediately, their expressions darkened before Ryuuji got up and walked away without saying a single word.

        Unsurprised that Ryuuji had been the first to leave, Seto sat there for a moment longer. And once he was sure that Ryuuji was gone, he too took his leave.

        Sometimes, later on, he would wonder about why he had left after Ryuuji was already gone. Kuroyama had said that as long as he could be civil, he would be allowed to stay… and with Ryuuji gone, there was no doubt in his mind that he wouldn't manage to succeed in that.

        Perhaps it was guilt… or something similar enough of that to strike something in Seto's conscience. Either way, it was something that he couldn't name at the moment, but he knew enough to be certain that it wouldn't let him stay there after what had just happened.

~ * ~

        "Tadaima [3]," Ryuuji mumbled, barely audible, as he wandered back into the house. He wasn't sure why he bothered to announce his arrival… it was probably habit more than anything else. After all, it wasn't like Honda would be at home when he was supposed to be out working… not unless he randomly took sick or something.

        "You're back earlier than I expected," was the smooth reply. Ryuuji blinked as the fact that there was a person there started to sink into his brain… and from the sound of the voice, it wasn't just any normal person.

        Especially since normal people did not break into people's homes. Well, most of them anyway. Anyhow, it was pretty doubtful that Malik Ishtal would want to be called normal, especially since most normal people didn't use to run a worldwide crime organization, spend most of their life trying to kill a technically already dead pharaoh, and have a psychotic split personality try to cover the entire world in darkness.

        Even in a group as odd as Yuugi-tachi, Malik still managed to stand out quite nicely.

        "Malik?" Ryuuji's voice carried quite a bit more than a little disbelief as he stared at the slightly taller Egyptian. "Malik, what on earth are you doing here?"

        "Aren't I allowed to stop by and say hello to my boyfriend?" Malik replied from where he was sitting at the kitchen, drinking from a glass of water. "You do realize that there is not a shred of edible food in your refrigerator? Either it's meat, expired, rotting, or all three at the same time. [4]"

        "Blame Honda; it's his turn to the grocery shopping no matter what he says. And it's ex-boyfriend, or did you already forget?" Ryuuji shot back as he continued to stand in the doorway, glaring at Malik as if he was some type of parasite. "After all, you are the one that broke it off."

        "I was?" Malik honestly looked bewildered before it suddenly clicked in, causing him to nod readily. "Oh… yeah. I was, wasn't I?"

        Ryuuji rolled his eyes as he sat down, "With a memory and attention span like that, I doubt we would have lasted much longer anyway."

        "Shame. I really did like you too."

        "Did you? I heard that you told Yami no Bakura the same thing…."

        "I never said you were the only one," Malik replied agreeably before the two of them fell into a somewhat awkward silence as they both searched for something to say.

        It really hadn't been that bad of a parting; it had never been that good of a relationship anyway. The two had gotten together shortly after college had started. Malik had been back in Domino on a transfer program, and the two had somehow ended up being stuck together as roommates. And then… well, things had happened. Ryuuji wasn't sure how it had happened, but plenty of things had happened as a result of it.

        In a way, both of them had known that it wouldn't have lasted; it was fun, but not really real. Malik was there only for a year, and then he would be returning to Egypt. Ryuuji had absolutely no intention of leaving Japan, and Malik had absolutely no intention of staying. So, about a month before he had left, Malik broke the news to Ryuuji and that was basically that. It had been a little uneasy for a couple of weeks, but by the time Malik left there were no hard feelings left.

        Still, despite that, there wasn't really any justification for Malik to suddenly just pop up in his apartment drinking a glass of water as if that was the most normal thing in the universe.

        A silence followed Ryuuji's rebuff before Malik decided to volunteer some information, "I… ah… this is a stopover flight. I'm on my way to… err… somewhere."

        "Somewhere?" Ryuuji echoed, raising an eyebrow as he finally allowed a small smile to slip onto his face. "That's just a _tad_ bit vague, don't you think?"

        "So?" Malik replied as innocently as he could with a huge grin on his face.

        "Starting up your GHOUL operations again, are you?"

        "Would I do a thing like that?" Malik smirked as he continued to watch Ryuuji carefully. "I'm clean now, Ryuuji. I would never do anything illegal…."

        "Did you pick the locks again?"

        "I didn't have time to get a key from Honda, and I didn't want to bother you," Malik replied defensively. "Besides, he gave me his permission, as long as I didn't break the windows. Although if I had, I would have paid for them anyway."

        "You… you talked to Honda?" Ryuuji couldn't help but suddenly feel very nervous; he knew Honda well enough to know that the brunette had a hard time keeping his mouth shut about the most important things. And judging from the tone of Malik's voice when he had spoken about Honda, it was more than likely that certain recent events had been the subject of the before-mentioned chat.

        "Yes… we had quite a conversation," Malik was really starting to grin as he could practically see the sweat starting to run down Ryuuji's face. "He told me a few things… and I just had to come over here to find out if any of it was…."

        Malik's hand quickly shot out to grab the die that was being thrown at his face and without skipping a beat, finished his sentence, "… true."

        Ryuuji glared as Malik laughed and deftly threw the die from one hand to the other, "Honestly Ryuuji… we were only together for about ten months but that was more than enough time for me to learn how to catch everything that you throw at me. No matter what that is."

        "It never stopped me from trying though," Ryuuji replied sweetly before throwing another die. Since Malik was still a little too busy playing with the die that had previously been thrown at him, he was only able to deflect the die with the back of his hand to keep it from hitting his face and making an ugly mark.

        "Well, at least it wasn't dishes," Malik grinned, ignoring the fact that Ryuuji was now shooting him a very murderous look. "Does Kaiba-kun also tell you that you're cute when you're this angry?"

        "Urusai! [5]" Ryuuji shrieked as he quickly made a mental note to kill Honda when he came home… perhaps feed him some of that moldy crap in the fridge. He also made a vow not to suddenly jump up and try to stuff the rotting meat down Malik's throat, continuously telling himself that it was simply in Malik's personality to be as annoying and horrible as he possibly could be. Still, even with that mantra running through his head, it took him a great deal of self-restraint not to do the things that he so wanted to do at the moment.

        "I always did think that the two of you would make an adorable couple."

        "You must have been drunk when you thought of that one."

        "Drunk! Exactly," Malik was really grinning now. "I also told you that you shouldn't drink, Ryuuji… you never did have the stamina for it. Remember that Valentine's Day where one of your fans gave you a box of chocolates, and it turned out that they had…."

        "Shut up Malik!"

        "… and you didn't know at the time that you had such low tolerance for alcohol. You know, I've never seen anyone go so crazy from just a box of chocolates… you were practically draping yourself on me and wouldn't let off until you finally fell asleep from exhaustion. Is that what happened this time? I'm surprised you would be stupid enough to go and start drinking after the last fiasco…."

        Ryuuji shot him the dirtiest look possible, "Malik, some people manage to block out memories like this until certain other people bring them back up."

        "And you're one of them?"

        Silence.

        "That's what I thought," Malik replied simply before pausing to examine Ryuuji closely, as if he was no longer the person he had known before he had returned to Egypt. But in a way, he was right… this was, after all, the first time they had seen each other in several years, and both of tem had changed and matured (well, sort of) as humans are wont to do.

        "So what are you doing here?" Ryuuji finally asked after a long pause, choosing to return to a more comfortable subject rather than an embarrassing one.

        Comfortable for him, at least.

        Malik shrugged; apparently, the topic was perfectly comfortable for him too, causing Ryuuji to scowl ever so slightly. Like Seto, Malik had this annoying tendency to stay one step ahead of everyone, causing Ryuuji quite a bit of grief in order to catch up, let alone get past him. "Rishid, neesan, and I are doing a little trip around the world… we're just going to go see the sights and stuff. It seemed like a good idea, so we stopped by to say hello…."

        "How'd you afford that?"

        "Well, remember when I told you that I returned everything I stole when I was running GHOUL?" the Egyptian was grinning slightly, and Ryuuji rolled his eyes.

        "Yes…."

        "I lied."

        Ryuuji tried not to grin, instead choosing to give his ex-boyfriend a stern look. Ryuuji was quite good at giving stern looks, although nobody could top Ryou's disapproving expression… maybe it had something to do with the fact that Ryou was usually so friendly and open that a critical look from the 'innocent angel' (that's what Ryou's boyfriend called him, at least) was really quite scary. "That's not very nice."

        "So?"

        Ryuuji certainly didn't have an answer that, especially considering the many things he had done too. "So is that it? That's why you're here? You're not asking for money or hungry and desperate for food or begging me to take you back or anything similar to that?"

        "Basically."

        "I see."

        "Anything else?"

        "Not right now."

        "Good. Then it's my turn to start asking you some things," Malik rested his chin on his hands, propped up on his elbows, "Why, Ryuuji?"

        "Why what? I'm not psychic, Malik, although I wouldn't mind if I had that skill," Ryuuji snapped peevishly.

        "Why haven't you found somebody else by now… I figured that you of all people would have been able to find someone new by this point," Malik elaborated.

        "Why do all of you people think that I'm some type of…"

        Before he could finish that indignant remark, Malik carefully pressed a finger on the emerald-eyed man's lips, causing him to growl softly, "Now, I never said anything like that. It's a perfectly legitimate question, especially when one considers how very attractive you are…."

        "Now I _know_ you want something…."

        "If I didn't know you better, I would think that you were trying to dodge the question."

        "Since you do know me better, you're not just thinking it are you?"

        "Exactly."

~ * ~

        Takashi Yuriko was a rather short woman with light brown hair and blue eyes dark enough to look black. She had gone to Tokyo University, same as Seto, and the two of them had one or two classes together every year. It wasn't something very surprising, as they were both going for the same major, but after graduation the two had not seen each other until she had called him up, asking for advice about where to get an apartment. He had given her the address, and she had given him her phone number, and after that the two of them had started meeting up with each other more often. Things had started to get official about a year ago, when the two had actually bothered to call each other rather than just accidentally meeting up with each other at the library or movies or other small things like that.

        It was a comfortable relationship that Seto was able to fit into easily, perhaps one of the most appealing things about the entire situation. Neither asked for much, and they rarely argued about anything.

        The car ride to the restaurant was one of those times when the two of them didn't really have anything to say to the other. Seto focused on the road and Yuriko focused on the scenery until she finally asked, somewhat hesitantly, "Is there something wrong?"

        "Why would you say that?" was the emotionless reply, still staring straight ahead into the road.

        "Do you really need an answer to that?" Yuriko asked without bothering to look over at him. "Did something go wrong during the seminar today?"

        "Saw somebody rather unpleasant there."

        "Oh? Who?"

        "It's nothing, Yuriko."

        "It was enough to make you this angry," she pointed out, finally turning to look at him. She twisted a lock of hair on her finger, a habit she had when she was somewhat nervous.

        "Who said I was angry?" was the cold reply.

        She scowled, although he couldn't see it since he was too busy watching the road. She didn't much like it when Seto became this moody, but she couldn't exactly think of any solution to miraculously change his personality without asking a potion maker to create a character changer, "You, more or less. It's pretty obvious."

        "Since when did you get a psychiatric degree?"

        "I've known you for over five years, Seto. That's long enough to start to understand a person, even without a psychiatric degree."

        "Hm," Seto replied, using that little sound that he made when he didn't really have anything to say. He had noticed that most people never bothered to question him after he said 'hm'… half of the time he wasn't sure why that was but he didn't care as long as it got him out of having to say anything.

~ * ~

        "Tadaima," Honda called out as he walked into the apartment. He was vaguely surprised to see that the building was still standing and that their home wasn't in shambles, but since Honda was an optimist and didn't like to question miracles, he just took it all in stride.

        "Okaeri [6]," Ryuuji replied, although he sounded obviously unhappy. "Oy, Honda. Why didn't you tell me that Malik was going to be showing up?"

        The brunette blinked, "I didn't know until after I dropped you off, and your cell phone was off."

        The raven-haired man frowned before saying simply, "Oh."

        He let out a sigh before he suddenly remembered what else might have passed between Honda and Malik, causing him to glare at his friend, "Why the _hell_ did you tell Malik about what happened between me and Kaiba?! What on earth could have possessed you to tell him?!"

        "It just kind of slipped out," Honda replied defensively as he looked Ryuuji in the eye. "Why? Is that the reason why he wanted to talk to you?"

        "Jeez, what do you think?" Ryuuji looked mad enough to kill (or at least throw dishes…), basically letting Honda know that he had to tread lightly or risk extreme physical harm. "Unless this is the point where you tell me that you _accidentally_ let it slip out to all the presses too?!"

        Honda couldn't help but twitch ever so slightly, which immediately caused Ryuuji to interpret it wrong and start screeching, "Oh Kami-sama… you didn't!!"

        "No! I didn't!" Honda held his hands up defensively, in case Ryuuji truly did decide to start throwing larger object that were more capable of damage. "Honestly, I wouldn't do something like that!"

        Ryuuji snarled but didn't say anything, and after a moment Honda decided to venture a wild guess, "So… I guess he asked you about it."

        "Noooooo. He called so that he could propose love and offer to marry me. What the hell do you think he was asking about?! After I had to listen to him jeer and tease me, then he started asking me about my _personal_ life as if that's any of his business! I mean, what's the problem if I decide that I don't want any relationships right now, huh?! Is there some law saying that I can't be single or something?!"

        "Well, most of us did figure that you would have found somebody else by now…" Honda frowned. "Didn't you?"

        "No,"

        "Well, sorry… I didn't mean anything by that."

        "You have an explanation for everything, don't you?"

        "Well… no," Honda admitted.

        The easy confession couldn't help but make Ryuuji raise an eyebrow as he asked, "Oh? And what is that thing you don't have an explanation for, oh mighty one?"

        "The dice."

        "What?"

        "Where do you get them, Otogi? I just don't get it… you're always throwing them at me but I never see you actually taking them out. And your clothes seem much too tight to have fistfuls of dice in them… well, maybe that blue vest [7] of yours but I checked and that thing doesn't have any pockets. So unless you're pulling them out of your…."

        Before Honda could finish, Ryuuji had thrown two dice at his head and walked out of the kitchen to his room, slamming the door behind him as he went in.

Commentary:

[1] *squeaks and ducks rotten vegetables being thrown at her head* I'm sorry~! I'm sorry!

[2] Referring to how Ryou has already died twice in the series (does PM suspect he might be biting the dust again? Possiblyyyy.), once in Monster World and the second time after the Yami vs. Yami duel (although I guess that one depends on your point of view).

[3] I'm home!

[4] Apparently, Malik and Isis don't like foods with meat. No wonder Yami no Malik went all psycho…. XD

[5] Shut up!

[6] Welcome home. 

[7] It's red in the anime but blue in the manga. I can't help but think that red makes him look sexier though…. ^.^

        --;; I don't really think I'm very comfortable writing Malik, but that might just be me… it's pretty weird though. In all the stories I've written, I never deal with Malik very much. I don't really know why that is, but it's probably because I'm always booting him back to Egypt by the point most of my stories take place.

        Is that an excuse? Well, a pathetic attempt at one….

Pikachumaniac


	4. Kyouryouku

Painted Sky

        PM apologizes before-hand for the less than sparkling and decidedly short chapter. The chapter length can be explained, however, by the fact that she has been constantly revising the outline and has once again removed scenes from this chapter and placed them in other chapters to make the story a little more believable. ^.^

        Yes, yes. Excuses, excuses.

        Anywho, with that said, this chapter takes place on Wednesday, so we're skipping over Tuesday because PM is lazy and doesn't feel like writing it. ^.^ Okay, so that's not the _real_ reason… it's just that any scenes in Tuesday didn't seem to be necessary to the overall plot so PM decided to cut it. After all, PM really is lazy and doesn't want to write anymore then she needs to… which doesn't explain for the length of this story.

        Or the length of these author notes…. *sweatdrops*

^_^ Many thanks to rayemars-san for her lurvely beta-reading, as well as the reviewers: goddess of insanity and pauru (That is the great mystery of life! Even more important than how many angels can dance on the head of a needle (that's how it goes, right?)! Yes, the dice! *giggles*), Alana Hikari-Chan (Well, I guess the dubbers can't have the wee little children drooling over sex-god-characters-who-have-REALLY-nice-asses… you know, corruption and all. :P), Anime Girl Sasami (X_X Stephen Crane came up in Quiz Bowl… I guessed from that and even though I didn't know the character, I got the book! Thank god for Great Illustrated Classics… *giggles*. Anyhow… wow, wow, wow. I love reading your reviews because they make me think so much; yes, before you ask, PM can think! *tries to look sincere* And I'm glad you like the OCs… ^^;;. It's not that I'm fond of them but… well, I guess they do grow on me after a while. Although Yuriko is taking a bit longer than most… *pouts before placating herself with candy corn* Me likes candy corn. ^_^), Tuulikki (*glompu* Daijoubu da~! Humor, eh? Methinks I need to start writing serious fics just to prove that I can… XD), Akemi Ishtar (Technically, this fic does involve a couple OCs, which you have already met… are they all right?), Rowan and Sakura (*bops Sakura with a mallet* Don't be so mean to Rowan! Writing just takes a while… I've been writing for a little over three and a half years, but I'm still developing myself. And is it a problem about the footnotes? Because I'm thinking about putting the Japanese word before it if it's a translation… I can't really do that for random notes though. ^^;; And Yami the prostitute comes from a joke I have with a friend… we call him that because of the leather, chains, and buckles. :P), Nero, Jake, and Kage-sama (Serious and hilarious at the same time? :P But not at the _exact_ same time, right? XD), Bronze Eagle (Oo;; Oh come on, don't feel guilty! ^^;; It's nice of you to review period, and you shouldn't feel obligated until I come after you with a jack hammer. *nods sagely* Anyhow, yeah. I can't see Ryou straight. Like Ryuuji, he just sends off these vibes that scream out… uhh, never mind. And yeah… Shizuka is with Honda in this story, although it will most likely be minimal. Besides, at least by this point they're probably all in their twenties or so. ^_^ Hope you had a happy Halloween!), purplechaos04 (^_^ Thank you thank you! Although I'm beginning to think these characters introspect a bit too much… *mauls them*), and Fate VII (Awww… *huggles* Hope you get plenty of sleep and do well on your essay! ^_^). Sankyuu, minna~!

~ Kyouryouku (Cooperation) ~ 

        Despite the fact that the past several days had contained a great deal of screaming and slamming of doors, Tuesday was comparatively quieter in comparison to its predecessors. In fact, one might even go so far as to say that it was calm and relaxed… well, as calm and relaxed as a day could possibly be when it required the ability of two young men to walk on eggshells around each other. At every moment, their audience braced itself in case there should be an explosion of furious words and accusations, but despite the constant glaring when he was sure that the other person wasn't looking, words were kept to a minimum.

        Zero, in fact.

        Of course, this might have been due to the fact that both young men were being closely watched by Kuroyama-san, who had decidedly no patience for any trouble that the two might choose to stir up. Thus, they both wisely decided to keep their mouths shut and attentions focused on what the speaker had to say, resisting the urge to mutter rudely or strain their ears in case his rival had anything offensive to say.

        But to be frank, as well as realistic, there was really only so long that the two could stay in this situation before something would break. After all, Kuroyama-san was not going to be there to separate them forever. In fact, everyone was certain that the short-tempered, white-haired man was not particularly interested in spending the rest of the seminar making sure that the two behaved, and it would only be a matter of time before he stopped being aware of them… that is, until the next decidedly embarrassing argument. Not to mention the fact that the business world… and to a great extent Domino City itself… was simply not big enough so that the two could avoid each other for the rest of their days, leading to the profound (as well as disturbing) revelation that eventually, both would have to give up a little of their pride in order to reach a truce.

        And it would be better for both if that truce happened to occur sooner, rather than later.

~ * ~

        Since it was rather impractical of Ryuuji to direct his substantial amount of anger at nonexistent and mythical fates [1], and since he had exhausted himself fantasizing about interesting (and not to mention grotesque) ways of abruptly ending Kaiba Seto's life, Ryuuji decided to figure out why Kuroyama-san hated him so much. Or, so as not to be completely egocentric, why the speaker hated both him _and_ Seto enough to submit them to the cruel and unusual punishment of working together… again.

        Although to be completely fair, it really had nothing to do with Kuroyama-san. The raven-haired man had simply not acted fast enough to find a partner before everyone was paired up, and it was not in Seto's personality to search out a partner either. Thus, before either of them could blink, the two of them were stuck together and once again in a potentially dangerous state.

        Kuroyama-san had refused to separate the two, although he had given them wary looks that seemed to speak volumes of his resignation that he would be losing two members of his audience. Ryuuji personally found that pretty hypocritical, although he wasn't sure why, and he had to bite his tongue to keep himself from saying so.

        Seto, on the other hand, was treating the situation in the same way he treated most irritants; simply put, he ignored Ryuuji's existence. This was, however, to be proven difficult due to the fact that Ryuuji was a particularly loud and decidedly impatient young man who was very desperate to make his presence known if only for the fact that he didn't want to waste any more of his money. After all, as had been so often reiterated before, Ryuuji had paid a fair amount of money to get to this seminar and he didn't want to discover that suddenly, because Seto was unrelenting in staying the usual pain in the ass that he always was, he wasn't going to be getting anything useful out of it.

        Still, even with that knowledge fully imprinted in his brain, it took a great deal of effort for Ryuuji to drag himself close enough to Seto so that the brunette could no longer imagine him away. After all, it was difficult for anyone to ignore a face scowling right into his own… even for someone who was more or less paid to imagine his social problems away.

        "What?" Seto spat out, resisting the urge to swat Ryuuji's face away as if he was an annoying insect. Something that Ryuuji certainly deserved, in his mind at least, considering the game inventor's annoying habits and prior behavior up to this point. It was somewhat understandable, as well as plainly obvious, that Seto was completely uninterested in pursuing a civil relationship with Ryuuji… and looking into those cold blue eyes, Ryuuji had to bite his tongue from expressing the exact same desires.

        "Well, in case you didn't notice, this little exercise Kuroyama-san cooked up requires something known commonly as teamwork. Do you understand that concept Kaiba?" Ryuuji immediately snapped back, dropping any disillusionments that he could somehow manage to… well, _seduce_ Seto into actually being cooperative for once. He wasn't quite sure that cooperative was a word in Seto's vocabulary, even when Mokuba was involved.

        "With you?" Seto's eyebrow twitched, and the question made Ryuuji roll his eyes. It wasn't as if Seto had been _sleeping_ throughout the entire… well, then again, maybe he _had_, but he doubted the possibility that Seto could fully ignore the fact that they had, by some freakish twist of fate, somehow been forced together.

        "No. With the wall," he finally gritted out.

        "Not surprising. It's a much better partner than you will ever be," Seto replied smoothly, tilting his head slightly as he gave Ryuuji a long glance over. He thought that Ryuuji was being a bit presumptuous in all of this… thinking that he was the only one who gave a damn about the seminar. It wasn't as if Seto didn't think the same; he just didn't want to act on those thoughts when it involved a certain dice-obsessed freak of nature.

        "Kaiba!" Ryuuji yelled loud enough for Seto to wince but for nobody else to hear. Seto wasn't sure how _that_ worked out, but when it involved any of Yuugi's friends, he stopped accepting reality and gave in to the fantastic. Ryuuji had certainly proved not to be an exception to this concept at least, and Seto shrugged off the impossibility of what had just happened and continued to watch Ryuuji with the usual calm that made most people shy away.

        But not him… why not him? Even Yuriko gave him distance when he was in this type of 'mood'… and most of his acquaintances were wise enough to do the same thing. Only Mokuba didn't bother… but then again, he never really had any reason to, did he? The few times that Seto was cold to Mokuba had been anomalies… each one stuck out in his mind and each one he regretted, prompting him to avoid that kind of situation as much as possible.

        Ryuuji though… he wasn't backing down.

        Yami no Yuugi had been the same way… in that presumptuous, arrogant manner of his. Although from the way he acted, Yami no Yuugi clearly was under the mistaken impression that he wasn't too prideful. But was that one of the things that attracted him to his former rival… that and the fact that he had been the only person to defeat him?

        He would have shaken his head and rolled his eyes in typical Kaiba Seto behavior, but he didn't because he did not want to give Ryuuji any mistaken impressions. In a situation like this, those types of misconceptions could be dangerous… look at what had already happened! The two had been quite idiotic to actually believe that the other was interested in the first place, and that had led to this entire mess. Everyday, Seto had to deal with the continued desire to go back and give his past self a beating in order to prevent the situation from happening (or even better, go back in time and deal out punishment to _Ryuuji_)… and the feeling sprang up every time he found himself looking into those green eyes.

        Not to imply that he cared, of course.

        He nearly wanted to laugh. Care? Care about _what_, exactly? That was the question that had been bothering him for most of the past week… why did he care about these thoughts that he didn't quite understand in the first place?

        Well, he didn't.

        "What?" he repeated, continuing to give Ryuuji the same cold, emotionless look. Nothing was going to break his shield now… not now, of all times.

        Ryuuji was staring at him with an incredulous look, almost as if he couldn't believe how dense Seto was being.

        Finally, as slowly as he possibly could without bursting a vein, he stated as slowly and clearly as he possibly could so that there could be no doubt whatsoever of what he had just said.

        "We need to work together."

        Seto's expression never changed. "All right."

        He couldn't help but be amused by the variety of emotions that flashed across Ryuuji's face, starting with shock to anger to an incredulous mistrust that carried the feeling of extreme doubt of his intentions.

        "Is that all you have to say?"

        When Seto didn't respond to do that, Ryuuji immediately continued, unable to keep himself from stopping. He hated it when people changed on him so quickly… that was one of the best things about Honda. Honda was stable, and not very moody. He didn't do anything that was completely unexpected, and even when he did it wasn't big enough to shock Ryuuji to _this_ extent. Unlike Seto. Unlike that blasted brunette sitting there with a smirk on his face.

        He wanted to strangle him.

        "I mean… no arguments? No complaints about how you don't want to be stuck working with _me_? No lectures about how your pride won't take it and how someone as lowly as me doesn't deserve to work with someone as high and mighty as _you_? None of that?"

        "Yes."

        "That's frightfully considerate of you, Kaiba."

        "Rest assured that I did not take any of your feelings into consideration when I made this decision. However, under the circumstances, I find it more in my favor to work with you rather than become the laughingstock of the business world," Seto immediately replied, the tone of his voice seeming to imply that Ryuuji was no more important than a tiny insect scuttling across the woodwork, barely visible to the naked eye.

        Ryuuji too might have felt it in his best interest to just shut up and accept the sudden freefall of good fortune, but he was not the type of person who could easily keep his mouth shut.

        "It's not like you needed my help to do that in the first place."

        Seto's eyebrow twitched and his jaw visibly tightened, but still he managed to keep his voice distant even as he entertained different varieties of torture, "I'm offering a truce."

        "Would you like me to get on my hands and knees and beg for it?"

        "If that would make you feel better, you have my permission to do so. I'd prefer it if you just said yes so we can put that night behind us."

        "Do you really think it would be that easy?" Ryuuji found himself asking before he could control himself… not to imply that he regretted it, of course. Ryuuji was not the type of person to regret his actions unless he saw potential deadly harm as part of the equation. "Do you honestly think that if you just _say_ so, we could pretend none of it ever happened?"

        "I never said we were going to pretend that none of it ever happened. I'd just rather not spend the entire time dwelling on it."

        "No one's making you."

        "Are you enjoying this?"

        "I'm not a masochist."

        "Could have fooled me."

        "For someone who is so desperate to make a truce, you sure aren't putting a lot of effort into it," Ryuuji snapped back bitterly, finally turning away. After all, it was his turn to go into a sulk and glare at the wall as if it had something extremely offensive scrawled all over it.

        "You're not helping matters."

        "Am I to blame for that?"

        Seto would have snapped back but at that particular moment he caught Kuroyama's eye, immediately causing him to back down as he brought his voice down to a low hiss, "I don't need to deal with this, you know."

        Ryuuji didn't answer that; he already knew, after all. Instead, he continued to give the brunette that openly defiant and mocking look… that look which nobody ever gave him, not even Yami no Yuugi. Yami no Malik had, somewhat, during the Battle City battles… but that was different. That was an expression that could easily be dismissed as the madness of a complete psychopath… and while one could reasonably argue that Ryuuji was indeed insane and in serious need of medical attention… nobody could compare to that being….

        "But you are."

        The expression… it wasn't mocking anymore, but merely curious. Curious to see why Seto would be putting himself through this if, as he had so clearly stated before, he didn't really have to deal with this situation. He could ignore it… certainly he could afford _that_.

        So why didn't he?

        Seto opened his mouth to say something… anything that would return the situation to him. How odd that three tiny words and an expression completely devoid of ill intent could reduce him to this state. Wasn't it usually supposed to be the other way around?

        "I am," he finally acknowledged, leaving the next step up to the raven-haired man sitting next to him, staring at him with that odd look in his face which seemed to be contempt and… wonder?

        Ryuuji could only blink at the unexpected answer.

        He really did hate it when people were this unpredictable.

~ * ~

        Honda yawned as he leaned against the seat, wondering what could be taking Ryuuji so long. He had a variety of explanations, each of which seemed to grow progressively worse as the list starting at a visit to the emergency room and continuing on until it climaxed at his roommate killing a certain blue-eyed billionaire and being sentenced to death row after a very speedy trial.

        Okay, so maybe the last one was a bit ridiculous… but one couldn't exactly say that about the first possibility, could they? Especially considering Ryuuji's rather volatile temper for the past couple of days… months… years… lifetime?

        Best to keep that particular thought to himself, rather than risk that before-mentioned temper being turned against him. Although truthfully, he was starting to get pretty used to it. As long as no physical harm was actually received, Honda managed to remain civil about the entire matter.

        Covering another yawn as he tried to push out all those nasty thoughts, Honda resisted the urge to just drive off without Ryuuji. Considering how Ryuuji had spent all of yesterday glaring holes into his head on the trip home, he couldn't help but feel very justified in entertaining that notion. Honestly, Honda thought that Ryuuji was overreacting to the entire situation… although he never bothered to tell him that face to face. No, that time would come when Ryuuji was conveniently strapped down by a straightjacket and Honda was outside a two-hundred mile radius. And even then, he would want plenty of armed personnel watching his back in case something should happen.

        When Ryuuji was involved, something usually was guaranteed to happen.

        At that particular moment, Honda took the time to look in the rear view mirror and his eyes nearly boggled out as he found himself staring at the most insane hallucination he had ever seen in his life: Otogi Ryuuji and Kaiba Seto walking side by side, looking deeply engrossed in a conversation.

        Immediately, Honda started to check for something that showed that the situation was involuntary. Handcuffs, blood, police in the back, ambulances, chains… anything to explain what was right there before his eyes. To his growing surprise and amazement, he saw absolutely nothing that could remotely constitute as an explanation, and so it was of no surprise that he was still in a state of shock when somebody remarked, almost cynically, "Well, that was rather unexpected."

        Honda might have jumped out his seat (and in the process hit his head against the car's roof) if not for the fact that his seatbelt was keeping him in, and instead he turned to look at a rather tall, distinguished man standing right in front of his car with an odd look on his face as he too watched the approaching pair.

        As they came closer, he could hear odds and ends of the conversation, floating in the air in an almost mocking manner as they seemed to hang in front of him before suddenly disappearing without a trace.

        "I _told_ you that it was the first answer."

        "You should have been more sure of yourself then."

        "I _was_ sure of myself. You just didn't listen… although I should have expected that from you."

        "If you had been more sure of yourself, then I would have listened."

        The raven-haired man snorted, "Yeah right. You never listen to "

        Seto merely raised an eyebrow at that, "I didn't hear you complaining when we decided that we were finished."

        "That's because you never bother to listen in the first place."

        "It's hard to believe that, especially when it is coming from you."

        Honda couldn't help but sweatdrop as he heard the bickering, which was already starting to cause him a headache (he couldn't help but wonder how they managed to deal with each other without also getting headaches of their own). It looked like despite the attempts to be civil with one another, the promise apparently did not extend past bloodshed. Although to be truthful, they didn't look as angry at each other than they probably had been for the past couple of days. And they certainly weren't _ignoring_ each other, which was had happened the previous day….

        Still, the entire situation seemed to be extremely odd and rather unexpected. Almost as if it was happening too quickly, as Honda had before predicted that it would take another three years before the two could be in the same room together without completely ruining the atmosphere.

        "Otogi?" he called out almost hesitantly, as if trying to convince himself that the person standing before him was not the same person who had been having a temper tantrum last night.

        "What?"

        Honda could only start to sweat nervously as he found three sets of eyes staring at him with a variety of emotions, ranging from amusement to confusion and annoyance. Quickly, he held up his hands as he laughed nervously, "I… iya [2]… just… are you ready to go? We need to go meet up with Yuugi and the others, remember?"

        That was, in short, one of the worst excuses he had ever created in his life… but at least it was a truthful one. Seto, at least, wasn't going to grill him about it and even if Ryuuji was annoyed, he couldn't exactly say anything to contradict what Honda had just said.

        "Hm," was the only thing Seto said as he walked over to his car, his driver following him closely. No good-bye, no farewells, no nothing. He just turned and walked away, and nobody could honestly say that they minded because in a way, they were just so used to it that they couldn't really find anything to say.

        Despite that though, Honda seemed to be frozen in his current state of shock, and it wasn't until Ryuuji had placed a hand on his shoulder that he suddenly jerked back to life.

        "What are you doing?" Ryuuji asked, staring at him with an expression that seemed to state that he was in need of medical attention. This, however, could only be responded with the exact same expression as Honda struggled to search for the right words to say.

        "What… what am I doing? What were _you_ doing, eh?" Honda immediately shot back as he stared at Ryuuji with wild eyes. "You… and him… civil… how?!"

        In a way, he almost felt like wailing from all the confusion that he was feeling. Luckily though, he managed to suppress all of those feelings as he continued to wait expectantly for some type of explanation that could calm his nerves. Drugs, money, stand-in's, robots… anything! Anything to explain that he wasn't hallucinating!

        "Is it really that big of a deal?"

        "Yes!"

        Ryuuji simply shrugged and said in the tone of voice which showed his quickly depleting interest in continuing the conversation any further, "We reached an agreement."

        "An agreement? An _agreement_? That's it? That's all you're going to tell me?!"

        "Yes."

        Abruptly, Honda's sanity returned although he did continue to look at Ryuuji for a moment or two longer, as if still in disbelief that this really was his friend. Or, if it was Ryuuji… whether or not it was really Ryuuji's brain. Somebody could have performed an operation on him and given him a lobotomy, right? That _was_ a plausible explanation, rather than Ryuuji's short answer of 'We reached an agreement'. That didn't say anything about what kind of agreement it was, after all. For all Honda knew, the agreement could have been a medical contract that Ryuuji had been forced to sign before he was suddenly whisked away to something similar to Doctor Frankenstein's laboratory!

        Instead of voicing his thoughts, Honda shakily turned the key and started the car, sneaking quick and very conspicuous looks at Ryuuji whenever he thought that the other man wasn't looking at him. Which was essentially the entire time, as Ryuuji was too busy staring out the window to notice what Honda was doing.

        He couldn't help but think about what Honda had asked… mainly because he wasn't sure how to answer Honda's question. True, they had reached an agreement of sorts to forget about what happened that fateful night… but they had made those types of promises before to no avail. Why was it that suddenly it would start to work, just because they had made the promise to each other? What type of incentive was that, when the two truly hated each other at the time they made their decision?

        Or maybe they hadn't really hated each other.

        Ryuuji would have blanched but managed to keep everything under control, instead choosing to roll his eyes at that strange possibility. Not hate each other? That sure would make it hard to explain why the two had been snapping and getting at each other's throats… even if it did explain how they were able to get over their differences so quickly.

        But they hadn't really gotten over their differences. They had just made an agreement. End of story.

        He couldn't help but frown as he watched the buildings flash by, there one moment and gone the next, as if they had never existed. Everything seemed so fleeting… so short-lived. So had their anger with each other, apparently, although not all of it had been done away with just because of the agreement. Ryuuji still felt a great deal of annoyance towards Seto for trying to blame the whole situation on him, and it would probably take a while longer before he ever completely forgave him.

        Otherwise… he had never really hated the taller man before the incident. During high school, he had barely known Seto except as the person who was constantly stalking Yami no Yuugi in hopes of finally winning a duel against him. The two had never seen each other during college, since Seto had gone off to Tokyo University while Ryuuji had stayed in Domino City, and it wasn't until after graduation did the two start to see a little more of each other in chance meetings brought on by their respective commitments to their businesses. There had always been a spark of annoyance, and… something.

        He had been surprised when Seto had suddenly offered him a chance for them to put aside their differences and cooperate. The activity that had been laid before them was not an extremely difficult one, but it did require a great deal of communication between both parties and that was something the two were decidedly having problems with. The surprise and need to prove to Kuroyama that he was not as argumentative as he seemed… with higher authorities, at least… had caused Ryuuji to accept the proposal.

        Most likely, it would have happened eventually, without one or the other pushing for it. But he could find nothing to complain about with what had happened… except for that nasty bit of shock, at least.

        Seto wasn't the easiest person to get along with, but neither was Ryuuji.

        Perhaps that was why they found it easier to get along with each other than with anyone else.

Commentary:

[1] Authors not withstanding.

[2] A more informal way of 'iie', no.

        *visibly winces* Yes… that was a short chapter. I was going to have a scene after this but I thought it was too quick after chapter three, so I moved it to a different chapter. Unfortunately, I didn't really have anything to move into this chapter, so it just ended up being shorter than usual….

        *blinks and then stabs outline _repeatedly_*

        For something that is supposed to be helping me, you're causing me a bloody amount of hell, don't you think? *stabs it again*

        *outline cackles evilly*

        *PM drops knife and runs for her life, screaming*

Pikachumaniac


	5. Suketchi

Painted Sky

        This chapter… this chapter hates me. I swear. It tried to bite my hand off! *holds bleeding stump of hand* It tried to stab my computer! *holds up sparking gaps in her computer screen* It tried to chew up my DVDs! *holds up bitten DVD cases… although the DVDs themselves are perfectly fine because PM would have had a complete breakdown if anything should happen to her precious babies* And it even tried to tear out Yuki's whiskers!

        No… wait… that was Mahaado again. *gives him a dirty look*

        Anyhow, the point is that this chapter hates me. And it takes place on Thursday. Thursdays are horrible days. They're one day off of Friday, and I seem to be getting a disproportionate amount of tests on Friday's this year….

        But that's a different story. I'm rambling. I will now shut up.

Many thanks to rayemars-san for her lurvely beta-reading! I don't know what I'll do without you! And for the rest of the thank you's this time (and maybe for the rest of the fic? Please tell me if you prefer a long paragraph or this way!), I'm going to do this in individual paragraphs… mainly because the big paragraph gives me headaches sometimes. O.o 

Neferti Ishtal: Read "Fairydust" for the second time in a week? ^.^ Come on, it wasn't *that* good….

Ninetails: X.x If I wrote a story that took two hours to read, I wouldn't be able to publish for about two centuries due to writing… and writing… and writing… *dies*. And it's good that relationships take a while to start! More torture in the process means more change of them staying together! That's what I always say! *cackles*

MarmaladeGirl: Ahh… *huggles* Tis okay, tis okay! Yeah, since this fic isn't focusing on one person… I have to deal with multiple people running through my head. No wonder I'm losing it! *grin*

Rowan and Sakura: Well, YnYuugi is one of my favorite characters too! But he also dresses like a prostitute! *grin*

Tuulikki: X.x unfortunately, 4 pages is considered short for me these days… so pathetic. *smacks self* And as for "Spring Tulips"… yes, I really need to work on that, don't I? I have no idea when I'll be able to squish it in… I'm very unhappy with the second chapter so I'll probably have to find time to rewrite it, and what with college applications and classes… I just don't know when I'll have time to write it… *whimper*

Alana Hikari-Chan: O.o Platinum Porcupine? *giggles* That's too cute… and it's not PMS! *wails*

Bronze Eagle: The UC applications are doing word count though!! *eyes turn all rabid* My essay was 211 words! 11 words over the limit! *whimper-sob*. Anyhow, yes… the title of the fic will be explained in the next chapter (incidentally enough, the chapter that is mauling me into little bitty pieces), and then… then it will all become clear! *throws hands into the air* MWAHA!

Anime Girl Sasami: *giggles* You are just like rayemars-san! She asked me the same thing about why Seto is always thinking 'Ryuuji'… but as much as it would be nice to have it be hints that the two are madly in love with each other, it really isn't. I just keep using Seto and Ryuuji in the narrative because I don't want to confuse people by switching between Seto and Kaiba or Ryuuji and Otogi. I guess some people wouldn't find it confusing but… well, I don't want to make it any harder on them. But yes, in the narrative, it does follow a particular character's thoughts… I don't know why I chose to write it that way, but I think it's just because I'm really used to introspection. XD And if you want, at the end of the fic, I can publish the evil outline for you to see… then you can see why it's such a menace to society! *rabid outline jumps out and bites PM's arm* EEK!

Fate VII: XD Well, I'm glad you don't think it's short! And yes… I do want to kill my outline sometimes. *glares at it* Unfortunately, it keeps reminding me that I need it… stupid, arrogant little thing. *kicks it and gets her foot bitten*

Vulpes Demond of fuzzy ears: That is such a cute pen name… okay, I'm weird. But it is cute! And are they going to make up? Well… they'll do something like it, at least! *giggle*

Arigatou, mina-san!

~ Suketchi (Sketchy) ~

        The sudden civility that the two were using when addressing each other was decidedly unexpected alteration in attitude. Few, including the two most directly involved, could account for this miraculous change of heart, but nobody bothered to question it after the initial shock had worn off.

        Why that was, nobody could be sure. Some shrugged it off and claimed that they had known from the beginning that whatever had happened between the two (not that they were completely sure what that something was, although they knew that it had been something quite huge) was not bad enough to overcome the initial attraction (meant in a completely platonic manner, of course) that the two felt for each other. After all, their characteristics were reasonably similar enough so that the two could find something in common. Ignoring the concept that most strangers would also be able to find random similarities between each other, Seto and Ryuuji had enough comparable interests that given an opportunity the two could easily hold a decent conversation.

        So as Kuroyama-san and other innocent bystanders congratulated themselves on predicting such an event with a hearty chorus of 'I told you so's', nobody bothered to inform the two individuals who had become the center of so much attention of this concept.

        Mainly because as a psychology major, Ryuuji would have informed them that what they were doing was called hindsight bias, otherwise known as the _I-knew-it-all-along _phenomenon. [1]

        After all, it really was easier to predict an event after it happened.

~ * ~

        "I refuse to believe that you were so bored and so desperate that the only person you can annoy with your attitude problem is me," Ryuuji muttered as he leaned against the wall, keeping his emerald-green eyes steady on his new companion, who wisely chose not to reply to that. Although perhaps intelligence had nothing to do with it; in fact, Seto was really just pausing to think of something really embarrassing to throw at Ryuuji.

        "Well, you remind me of the make inu [2] in the way that you're all bark and no bite," he finally smirked, causing Ryuuji to flush angrily. To be completely truthful, Seto was lucky that Ryuuji hadn't started to throw things at him… but it really was a close call.

        "Ass."

        "Is that the best you can come up with now?"

        "It's a perfect description of you, like it or not."

        "Now who's being an ass, Otogi?"

        "Get your own material. You're rich enough to afford it… and you're reiterated that fact enough times for the entire world to know about it," Ryuuji shot back rather peevishly, keeping his attention focused half on the brunette standing in front of him and the other half of the time on the cup in his hand. The last thing he needed was for him to make a complete fool of himself _again_ by somehow drinking something that would cause him to do some rather undesirable… things.

        Like what had happened on Saturday night, for example.

        Which still wasn't his fault, no matter what Seto said or tried to blame everything on him. Not to imply that he was completely upset about that, of course… which he was, but just not in the way he had before. Which didn't quite make sense but he didn't exactly care either… after all, very little made sense when Otogi Ryuuji or Kaiba Seto was involved, and with both of them involved….

        Needless to say, neither was quite sure of what was going on between the two of them. Their relationship, which had been shaky from the beginning, now seemed to be based solely on contradictions and an accidentally meeting that had forced them to acknowledge the other person's existence whether they liked it or not.

        It was not, in short, the most ideal type of relationship. In some ways, it couldn't even be realistically labeled a relationship without a bit of lying through the teeth, but somehow the two managed to pass it off as something… real. Not necessarily positive, of course, but something with an undeniable amount of potential that neither was willing to admit interest in.

        And yet, the mere fact that Seto was actually approaching Ryuuji… and that Ryuuji was being civilized in his response… was something that completely canceled out the image that the two were trying to create for themselves.

        No wonder everyone around them was completely confused, including themselves.

        "I wouldn't exactly call that rather rude remark of yours very original either."

        "And since when did I care?"

        "I thought you harbored a need to impress everyone; how else to explain why you're so desperate to get your game mass produced?"

        Ryuuji nearly choked on the drink he had been sipping from nervously, staring at Seto with green eyes that could almost be constituted as wild and completely in shock of what Seto had just said.

        _"What?"_

        "You've done well considering how you started from a small base operation… but really, Dragon Dice and Dungeons is really too complex of a game to be advertised to a larger community," Seto continued simply, completely ignoring Ryuuji's stuttered attempts to cut in and set the record straight. Or, if failing at that, at least jump on top of the blue-eyed brunette and start pummeling him to the ground. Ryuuji really wasn't very picky about which one, although realistically he knew that he only had one real choice (unless one counted completely losing face by quite literally running away).

        "What are you trying to say?" the raven-haired man practically snarled as he calmed down his nerves and settled on glaring at Seto as if he had said something that was extremely offensive… which he had, of course, by saying that about Ryuuji's life work. Knowing Seto, it was truly difficult to say whether Seto had meant what he said in simple observation or a deliberate attempt to annoy Ryuuji even more.

        "Come on… I know that being around Yuugi-tachi [3] has caused your brain to degenerate, but even that couldn't make you stupid enough to not understand the words coming out of my mouth." Seto still had an infuriating smirk on his face, but in a way, Ryuuji was just starting to get so used to it that he barely noticed. Sometimes, it seemed that Seto smirked so much that he must have come out of the womb doing just that. No wonder he couldn't get along with anyone else….

        "Has it always been your life ambition to annoy every person you come across, or is it just a sideline hobby when you're not trying to take over the world?"

        "Excuse me for trying to hand you some logical advice that you haven't bothered to figure out on your own."

        "You're not excused."

        "Aren't you feeling bitter today, Otogi?"

        "It comes with the company," Ryuuji replied lightly as he started to curl a strand of hair around one of his long, thin fingers. Seto raised an eyebrow at that but didn't say anything; like Ryuuji, he was still slowly trying to figure out all the small nuances of the game inventor. Most of the people he had known were not too difficult to figure out… but….

        He hadn't really had any reason to dissect his employees or Yuugi-tachi's friends. They had always just been there, mere distractions that he had never bothered to direct any attention towards beyond a mere introductory notice.

        Ryuuji had really been one of the first people who had needed more than that brief glance. He didn't know why… on first glance, there didn't seem to be anything that required a more intimate look.

        Was it the fact that they had slept together which had somehow managed to make Ryuuji more… interesting?

        He immediately decided to ignore that last thought.

        "Are you scared that you won't be able to figure it out because it's too complicated for you?" Ryuuji suddenly grinned as he shook his head in mocking sympathy for his conversation partner. "Kaiba-_kun_, why didn't you just say so? I would be pleased to help you if you're really having that much trouble learning…."

        "_What?!_"

        "No, no, I understand why you wouldn't want to admit something like that," Ryuuji did his best to look understanding, but all he could manage was muffled laughter. "It must be very hard for you to acknowledge something like that, eh?"

        "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

        "Oh, of course not."

        "I guess that means you will have no problem teaching me how to play then."

        Ryuuji choked on the mouthful of water that he had just drunk, and Seto continued to be completely oblivious to the fact that the person he was talking to was having a bit of difficulty breathing.

        "You… you want me to _what_?" Ryuuji demanded as soon as he was capable of breathing again. Granted, it took him a while to stop coughing every two seconds, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he found himself being totally engrossed by another coughing fit.

        "Well, I can understand if you're scared of defeat from a rookie… but that's already happened before, hasn't it?"

        It was lucky for Seto that Ryuuji couldn't hear the last part of what he had said. Although Ryuuji had long ago patched up relations with Yuugi and Ryou, it didn't necessarily mean that he had any interest in being reminded of that event.

        As Ryuuji was still in no condition to be replying to what Seto had said, the brunette looked down at his watch and saw that it was about time to return to the lecture hall. He started to walk away, but before he was out of hearing distance, Ryuuji suddenly spoke up.

        "Saturday."

        "Excuse me?"

        Ryuuji smiled shakily with the realization that Seto hadn't really wanted to be taught how to play DDD in the first place as he elaborated hoarsely, "You can come over on Saturday and I'll teach you then. I'll give you my address later if you still need it."

        And before Seto could blink, Ryuuji had walked right past him and disappeared into the lecture hall.

~ * ~

        "Pull over."

        The driver was about to open his mouth and ask why, but by that point he had already seen what had so suddenly caught his employer's attention. He couldn't help but smile slightly as the familiar emerald-green eyes turned to look at him in shock when he pulled up beside the game inventor.

        Certainly though, Ryuuji had the right to be extremely surprised when the car suddenly stopped next to him. He did, however, manage to keep any of the disbelief he felt from showing up on his face, although his eyes were a different story. The confusion within was easy to see, although it quickly dissipated when the window rolled down and Ryuuji found himself scowling into Seto's face.

        There was a silence as the two glared at each other, each waiting for the other person to speak first. Ryuuji was practically seething; he had no idea what Seto wanted and the last thing he needed right then was to discover that the brunette had suddenly taken to stalking him as a hobby.

        Unlikely, of course… but with Kaiba Seto, it was hard to tell what was coming next.

        "Well?" Ryuuji finally demanded, although the word came out so quickly that it seemed more like he was blurting it out than anything. He winced inwardly at that loss of self control. Great. Now Seto was going to think that he was nervous or something… which he was, but it wasn't something that he wanted to advertise to the world. And besides, it wasn't like he really was _nervous_. He was just… caught off-guard. Not nervous about being confronted by a disturbed young man who happened to have billions at his disposal; oh, no need to get concerned by that.

        "You're walking."

        That hadn't really come out right, but Seto didn't bother to worry about it. What had happened had happened, and he wasn't about to waste his time trying to change the past when they were already barreling ahead into the future. What was the point of that anyway?

        Ryuuji, on the other hand, rolled his eyes as he crossed his arms. "Yes, Kaiba. That's what people do… it's why we were given legs."

        "Hm," Seto sounded absent-mindedly, ignoring Ryuuji's annoyed twitch as he continued to look over the raven-haired man with one of those completely unreadable expressions. He had always wondered why Ryuuji was so frugal, especially since he had no need to be. Sure, he wasn't making nearly as much money as Seto was, but he certainly was making enough to afford a house and car (and driver, since Ryuuji had no idea on how to drive [4]). There really was no need for him to be sharing rent with Honda, depending on Honda's beat up vehicle, or any of those other things that he did for the sake of saving money.

        He didn't have any other way of explaining it. Ryuuji was just weird and it was best not to try and figure him out unless he wanted a headache. And despite what some people thought, Kaiba Seto was not a glutton for punishment.

        Although his current actions seemed to be implying differently….

        "Want a lift?"

        Ryuuji's expression never changed from its annoyed frown as he asked, "Do I get a choice this time?"

        Seto didn't reply to that. He just continued to look at him with that expression which clearly said that he didn't care one way or the other. Which, of course, just made the entire thing more infuriating.

        It was, however, a nice offer. Ryuuji certainly didn't mind taking the train and walking from there, but he didn't exactly mind getting a ride either. He wasn't exactly an obsessive environmentalist, unlike Ryou… so he didn't mind getting a ride if somebody was offering it to him.

        Who that somebody was, however, was potentially worrisome.

        "You're not being very social today, are you?" Ryuuji finally grumbled bitterly as he took a moment to brush his long black bangs out of his face.

        "Is there some reason why I should be?"

        Ryuuji frowned, and Seto somehow managed to keep his face neutral despite the amusement he felt from the expression on the other man's face. After all, he wasn't _that_ sadistic… right now, at least.

        "You are being unreasonably good-hearted for a change, Kaiba. I have a right to be a little worried about that."

        It was hard to tell whose expression was strained and fake. Neither was sure how to respond to that last statement, and neither was sure whether or not it was being said truthfully or not. One could argue that it was… but then again, one could argue that it wasn't too. Seto was a very cold and distant person; nobody could deny that, except maybe Mokuba. But even Mokuba knew of his brother's personality outside of the comforts of their brotherly relationships.

        Trust though… that seemed to be a different story.

        Was the question even about trust though? Or was it another one of those statements to be thrown at one's sparring partner even if there was no actual truth in those words?

        Ryuuji decided to ignore what he had just said. There was no way he could take back what he had just said without making a complete idiot of himself, so he instead settled for moving onto a different topic.

        "What do you want?"

        "For someone who is being offered a favor, you sure are being ungrateful."

        "I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with me."

        "So is that why you offered to teach me how to play your game?"

        He opened his mouth to reply to that but all that came out was a barely audible and certainly uncomprehendable squeak that caused him to flush a deep shade of crimson red in embarrassment.

        "Fu… I see," Seto smirked as he leaned back with an air of someone who knew something rather disturbing that certain people had been trying to keep under wraps for as long as possible. Then he shrugged, his usually mocking blue eyes closed, "Well, I guess I can understand why you would be reluctant. Being humiliated once was already enough for you, hmm?"

        "I just don't want to waste my time teaching something that is obviously too complicated for you, Kaiba," Ryuuji snapped back as he started to walk away. Much to his annoyance, the car moved to follow him, even though Seto had not given the driver any directions to do so. "Now what do you want?!"

        "You still haven't given me your address."

        A scowl decorated the rather thin, almost delicate face. Seto couldn't help but wonder if Ryuuji was eating right, or if his thinness was simply something natural.

        "I'm sure _he_ knows it," Ryuuji jerked a hand at the driver, who managed to keep his face completely straight even as his beleaguered mind screamed not to get involved. "And it's in the phonebook as well, which is where most _normal_ people have their addresses and phone numbers. And there aren't even any security guards waiting to blast any person more suspicious than an old lady with a dog walking by, so I'm sure you will have no trouble getting in if you want to."

        There was a silence as he continued to try and walk away, never able to succeed because of the tiny fact that it was hard to out walk a car. Finally though, he was brought to a screeching halt when Seto finally asked impatiently, "What are you so afraid of, hmm?"

        "Afraid?!" Ryuuji's voice had reached that high-pitched level that it often did when he was feeling frustrated… a common event, quite frankly, especially these days. "What did you say?!"

        "I refuse to believe that you've suddenly developed hearing problems in the past couple seconds. Although that might explain why you get into so much trouble."

        Ryuuji resisted the urge to inflict bodily harm or at least throw something, mainly because it was rather difficult and inconvenient to have moving targets. Not to imply that Ryuuji hadn't practiced with moving targets… he had, of course… but throwing things at an occupant in a car was a completely different story.

        "What is it with you that makes you think you have a duty to put everyone down, huh?" Ryuuji shrieked, causing the many bystanders that were already being entertained by the commotion the two were making to stop feigning ignorance and just start staring.

        "It comes with the company."

        "Stealing lines now?"

        "I wouldn't need to if you would just let me give you a ride."

        "And why should you do that?"

        "You're not exactly capable of taking care of yourself, and I don't want one of your brainless friends blaming me for not looking after you properly."

        "The world doesn't revolve around you, Kaiba. What the hell makes you think they will try to blame it on you?"

        "Remember the brainless part I was talking about?"

        Even though Seto was technically insulting his friends, Ryuuji had to work hard to keep a small smile that was threatening to slip onto his face. Unlike most of the others, whose lives seemed to revolve around protecting their friends, Ryuuji personally thought that a little insulting could go a long way (as long as he wasn't the victim of such insults, of course… but who could insult such a perfect person like him in the first place?), and Seto's statement was especially amusing. In fact, he couldn't help but agree with Seto when it came to people like Jyounouchi….

        Seto also chose to hide the smile on his face when he saw the struggle that Ryuuji had to go through to keep from expressing amusement at what he had just said. Instead, he kept the bored expression on his face as he tapped his fingers against the edge of the car impatiently.

        "Well?"

        The single statement was enough to sober Ryuuji, and likewise he slapped back on his usual, arrogant (not that he thought of it that way, of course) expression back on as he glared at Seto. But despite any hostility he felt against the brunette at the moment, he just couldn't muster enough to bring back the loathing which had for the past week filled his eyes so often.

        "You're not giving me a choice, are you?"

        "I could have you followed until you reach the train station if you would prefer."

        "Do you really have that much free time on your hands, Kaiba? From the way all the people you fired talk about you, I would think that you wouldn't have the time to spare just talking to me right now."

        "Unlike you, who never seems to work no matter what the situation is."

        "I work!"

        "When?"

        "I don't need to explain myself to you!"

        "So you don't work."

        "Did I say that?"

        "You implied it."

        "What the hell is it with you and _implying_ things?! Huh?! Next you're going to tell me that I _implied_ to you that I _wanted_ to get piss-ass drunk and that I _wanted_ to get you drunk and that I somehow _wanted_ to sleep with you even though we both know that is the most ridiculous thing in the…."

        He was stopped mid-sentence due to the fact that Seto had opened the door, grabbed him by the wrist, and dragged him into the car without bothering to wait for permission.

        As soon as the door closed, the street was soon filled with the sound of tires screeching as the vehicle immediately leapt back to life. It veered rather crazily into the street, in the process cutting off a poor driver who had just gotten her license two days ago but was now looking unhappily at the fountain of water spraying from the fire hydrant that she had crashed into [5]. 

        And as for all the observers, who were in a paralyzed state of shock and had barely noticed the accident (although a few more observant people wondered why it was raining despite a complete lack of clouds in the sky)… well, they spent the rest of the day trying to convince themselves that what they had heard was really nothing at all.

        It's amazing how well people can lie to themselves….

~ * ~

        The small restaurant was filled with a multitude of voices engaged in conversation, but overwhelming it all was the talk coming from a table in the corner. Not that the group was being any louder than they usually were, but with nine people, the dialogue was bound to get a bit noisy.

        "You are _not_ supposed to threaten the waitress!" Yami no Yuugi snarled to his koi [6], who ignored him by completely focusing his attention on the piece of barely cooked meat in front of him. "We could have been kicked out!"

        "So?"

        Yami no Yuugi glowered before turning away to focus on his own dinner and his aibou, who was trying to ignore the situation by talking to Anzu. Ryuuji personally never could figure out how the two managed to live with each other, especially now that the two spirits had moved away from their respective hosts. He, of course, was not the only one… basically everyone wondered why the two of them were still alive.

        Although, if one was to think about it… they technically weren't alive. So they technically couldn't get killed either… so maybe that was why they were best for each other. Neither had to worry about such petty things as mortality when it came to heated arguments and threats of bodily harm.

        Incidentally enough, Ryuuji was currently wedged between two people who did have to worry about mortality but still had the same exact type of relationship as Yami no Yuugi and Yami no Bakura. So it was of no wonder that he would usually be trying to hide underneath the table, only to be stopped by one of the two combatants as that person's 'supporter'. This usually resulted in quite a bit of whimpering from the raven-haired man.

        But it wasn't what was happening.

        What was really happening was that Ryuuji was just letting Jyounouchi and Mai practically toss him around like a rag doll, so engrossed in his thoughts he was. He couldn't really believe what had happened that day, and he was having quite a bit of trouble trying to figure it all out.

        After Seto had dragged him in the car, a large argument had ensued that basically led to Ryuuji realizing that Seto really was right (for a change!) but definitely not willing to admit it. The conversation (if one was brave enough to call it merely that) was probably loud enough to be heard through the car walls and above all the traffic… not that either of them cared anymore. The windows were tinted and nobody would have known it was them anyway… besides, if somebody did happen to be intelligent enough to recognize that it was a Kaiba Corporation vehicle, Seto could always pass it off as an argument with his girlfriend. Ryuuji's voice was certainly high-pitched enough to do that.

        Luckily, Seto had kept all those thoughts to himself. Ryuuji was already angry enough as it was, and not much would have been needed to set him off again.

        Either way, after about twenty minutes of seething and the usual trade of insults, the two managed to calm down enough so that they weren't glaring at each other every twenty seconds. And by the time they reached the apartment complex where Ryuuji lived, they had only managed to progress to awkward conversation with lots of the before-mentioned glaring.

        Ryuuji would not have been very surprised if Seto stopped talking to him again.

        "You broke the cup, didn't you?!" Mai suddenly screeched right into his ear, causing him to practically jump off his seat in shock of the sudden shrillness.

        "I told you that I didn't!" Jyounouchi yelled back.

        Ryuuji wondered why they couldn't just talk like normal human beings.

        _Just like you and Kaiba, eh?_

        _Shut up._

        "What else could have happened to it?! I've searched the entire house and I still haven't found it!" Mai continued to yell. Into his ear.

        "Maybe _you_ broke it!"

        "If I broke it, why would I be asking you about it?!"

        Ryuuji was starting to get very sympathetic looks from his friends, who he immediately cursed regardless due to the fact that _one_ of them had arranged the seats and put him here. He didn't know who it was and he didn't care. The person who did this to him was going to die as soon as he got his hearing back.

        "Well, if it isn't the make inu."

        The cold, familiar voice had to be a hallucination. It just _had_ to be. After all, Ryuuji was supposed to be deaf at the moment. As in not being able to hear. As in _definitely_ not being able to hear a certain arrogant prick's voice and becoming completely delusional in the belief that _Kaiba Seto_ was standing right there staring at Jyounouchi with the usual annoyance that always seemed to be there specially for the blonde.

        Something that wasn't exactly new, certainly.

        What was new was the woman holding onto Seto's arm.

        Immediately, Ryuuji jerked his head up from where it had been lying on the table covered in his arms in a very bad attempt to block out the noise. Upon doing so, he found himself staring into Seto's blue eyes… eyes that were filled with surprise and something else that couldn't be placed.

        "Seto?"

        Yuriko was a wonderful person, but at that moment Seto would have given anything for her to suddenly disappear.

        He didn't know why these feelings had suddenly sprung up like this. What was Ryuuji to him anyway? Nothing, really… Ryuuji was just another person. Another irritant in his life of an already very confusing existence.

        He wasn't _supposed_ to worry about him.

        Those green eyes… they were so… so what? It almost felt like they were accusing him of _what_? _Why_ did he care so much about what those eyes said? Why should he? That meant nothing to him… all of it meant absolutely nothing to him. Otogi Ryuuji was just another person who happened to interest him more than most people.

        But. That. Was. All.

        Yuriko interested him more than most people too. So it wasn't like Ryuuji actually meant anything… there wasn't any reason why he should be worried about what type of person Ryuuji was.

        "Seto, what's going on?"

        By this point, Ryuuji wasn't the only person staring at Seto. The rest of the small group was watching him, as was Yuriko, and the only thing he could do was stand there and have his mind screech about how of all days and all places, he had to come to _this_ restaurant on _this_ day on _this_ date.

        But why did he care so much about what Ryuuji thought anyway?

        "Se…."

        Before she could finish the word, she found herself being grabbed by the arm and literally dragged out of the restaurant by force. It wasn't that difficult; Seto was practically twice her size and certainly much stronger than she was, but she could have put up a fight and embarrassed the crap out of him.

        She didn't though, simply because it wasn't in her personality to do so. Also, she loved Seto, of course, and that was part of her reasoning for not causing a scene. But she couldn't help but have a feeling that whatever this young man meant to him, it was something that she didn't want to get involved with.

        She also knew very well that Seto wasn't going to be able to hide it much longer.

        Takashi Yuriko was a very patient person. And she knew that she could wait until the truth came out.

Commentary:

[1] Yes. Too much psychology. *runs away*

[2] Pathetic dog; one of Kaiba's colorful names for poor Jyounouchi.

[3] Yuugi and the others.

[4] I realize he drives in the anime but since this is based on the manga and the only person I've seen driving is Mai, I'm going to assume he can't drive yet. I really can't see any reason for him driving anyway….

[5] No. This isn't me. Stop looking at me like that~!!

[6] Short for koibito. Lover.

        Uh… yes… this chapter took me a very long to write. I don't know why… I've been wanting to write the last scene for a while, but the last scene was what ended up taking me so long to write! I had to rewrite it several times before I could get something I found decent. *sweatdrop*

        Anywho, not much to say… except I think their relationship is getting unreasonably turbulent. *sweatdrop* Maybe I should start being nicer to them, eh? ^^;;

Pikachumaniac


	6. Yakusoku

Painted Sky

        Ah… here we are, crusading on to chapter 6! Anyhow, due to an extreme lack of intelligence on my behalf since my brains have leaked out of my ears due to an unreasonable amount of physics, not many author notes. This chapter does happen to take place on Saturday though, which happens to be my favorite day of the week. ^_^;;

        So yay for Saturday! *giggles impishly and bounces off*

Many thanks to rayemars-san, as well as the readers! :)

Vulpes Demond of fuzzy ears ~ XD Who says Seto will break up with her? *gets slapped* Itai… kidding, really! :p

Tuulikki ~ Well, if you feed it reviews, it grows fat and starts to purr while ignoring the fact that the author wants to cut it up and eat it for dinner. *grin* I hope your studying goes well! *hugs*

Anime Girl Sasami ~ WAH! So glad I got to talk to you! *snuggle* Yah… this chapter had a bit more jumping around, especially in the last scene. *laughs* And yeah, I kinda like having the original characters being more understanding… it's something that I just prefer. Although Emi was a bit of a nasty person in her introduction, but she came around. And Mami… well, I'm trying to write a fic in her POV for "Kuwashiku" where she starts to understand Seto and Ryou a little better. Doubt I'll succeed, but I feel better for trying. With Yuriko… wah, I haven't really decided what to do with her yet. I know she cares for Seto, but I don't know if she quite cares enough to be bitter if they should break up. With Emi and Mami, I knew from the beginning what I wanted them to do… but Yuriko, it's more of whatever comes to mind. ^^;; So strange. Anyhow, sorry for that discussion on OCs… I know I shouldn't pamper them so, but I've kinda grown fond of them. And as for your question about who's narrating in the last scene… it seems to start from Ryuuji, jump to Seto, and end with Yuriko. Oo;; No wonder it's so confusing! *withers*

MarmaladeGirl ~ The translations for the titles are in the parenthesis right next to it. ^^;; Like how this chapter is called "Yakusoku", which means 'Promise'. *frowns* Actually, in the first and second chapter, the dash represents the translation… I wonder why that changed. Anyhow, in case you don't want to go back, the first chapter is "Omoigakenai Nyuusu", which means 'Surprising Information'. The second chapter is "Tomadoi" (Bewilderment), the third chapter is "Wamekitateru to Wameku" (Rant and Rave), the fourth chapter is "Kyouryouku" (Cooperation), and the last chapter was "Suketchi" (Sketchy). When I started this story, for some reason I got all my title chapters from poking through my dictionary. That led to some REALLY weird chapters, as you will later see with chapter 9 and 14. ^^;;

Rowan and Sakura ~ *giggles* Actually, when I wrote about that poor new driver, I was thinking about me being in her place! And Seto's current driver isn't doing too badly in this fic, right? Although I still can't remember if I ever gave him a name or not. X.x

Lady Shriannan Santrea ~ Wah! Glad to see you again! Yes, there *is* so much denial between the two… I almost want to slap both of them and tell them to get their act together. X.x Which just goes to show how crazy I've become….

Bronze Eagle ~ Happy birthday! I hope it was great… although if it lasted until seven, I'm sure it was! XD *pats Seto* The poor boy is lonely… it's no wonder he starts developing such strange things, ne? :p

~ Yakusoku (Promise) ~

        It was a well-known fact among the more cynical members of the business community that promises were made for the sole purpose of being broken. It was a bitter and rather pessimistic view of human nature, but that was what cynics tended to do.

        Besides, often times they had quite a bit of evidence to back up their point.

        Take Kaiba Seto for example. He had, in one of those moments where common sense mysteriously went flying out the window in order to make an unsightly splotch on the pavement, foolishly promised to do something that he obviously had no intention of doing even as he had made the promise.

        It was a pretty common occurrence, actually. Seto often made promises to people in order to placate them long enough for him to buzz for security and get them thrown out, but this promise happened to be… well, different. Ryuuji hadn't been angry at him… Ryuuji hadn't even wanted this to happen in the first place. There had been no reason to make the promise but he had nevertheless, and now he could only wonder what it would be like if he actually kept it.

        The question plagued him for the rest of Friday, even though he had no actual contact with the other man. The events of the previous night had placed their relationship in a somewhat awkward standstill, and Seto found himself wishing that it could have been otherwise.

        In fact, it was not until he found himself facing Kuroyama-san that he fully realized how far he had come in the past few days. Although… perhaps that wasn't quite the right thing to say, since progress wasn't a word he would apply to his relationship with Ryuuji.

        Especially since progress was the last thing he desired.

        Kuroyama-san had an almost silly expression on his face as he had shaken Seto's hand and wished him luck. There was a certain sense of giddiness in the older man's voice, making Seto suspect that the speaker was truly eager in getting rid of him… but there had also been a sense of sincerity when he had said those words. Later, as he was leaving, he heard Kuroyama-san giving the same treatment to Ryuuji, who had an expression of total confusion on his face as he had politely accepted the overly pleased yet almost concerned words.

        That expression, which had so perfectly mirrored his own, was probably what ultimately caused him to decide to keep his promise for a change. After all, it wasn't quite fair that he should be the only person wearing that expression on his face… and in the rare case that he should be shocked, he liked to think that there were still some people out there who he could stun even more.

~ * ~

        Honda had not been asleep when the doorbell rang at a suspiciously early time of six thirty on a Saturday morning, due to the fact that there were some customers from overseas and he was expected to give a huge business presentation at seven thirty. Despite that, he couldn't help but be annoyed by whoever the intruder should turn out to be, especially if the doorbell should wake up Ryuuji.

        Simply put, Ryuuji was not a morning person. In fact, he couldn't even be_ considered_ a person until he had finished getting his hair and make-up done, as well as inhaled about six gallons of caffeine-laden beverages, and even that was cutting it close. And if Honda had to deal with an overly bitchy Ryuuji at six thirty in the morning… well, an unhappy Honda was a very disturbing thing to see.

        So, before whatever psychotic idiot could ring the doorbell again, Honda jammed his finger on the speaker, growling (as civilly as he could, of course), "Who is it?"

        "Kaiba."

        He stared at the intercom as if it had suddenly grown fangs and was threatening to eat him. "Kaiba?!"

        "Are you deaf as well as stupid?"

        That immediately jolted him out of his surprised stupor, "Kisama [1]… what the hell do _you_ want at six thirty in the morning?!"

        "Where's Otogi?"

        "What do you want with him?"

        "He's supposed to get his ass down here, isn't he?"

        "Before nine in the morning on a Saturday? Are you kidding me? Consider yourself lucky if he gets up a second before that. We're not freaks of nature like you, you know."

        "Then what are you doing up?"

        Honda bristled, a typical reaction when in interaction with Kaiba Seto. There was something about that man which tended to rile up everyone within breathing distance, and that usually involved his snobbish personality. Of course, Honda should have been used to it because he had been living with Ryuuji twenty-four seven, but it just seemed that Seto had taken that priggish pride to a level that no living human (note the living part, as it was most likely that Yami no Bakura would give the billionaire a run for his money) could ever hope to match.

        "I have work to do! You're not the only one who works, Kaiba."

        "Funny. I thought you would have just leeched off of Otogi."

        "Teme-! What do you mean by that?!"

        "You're like the make inu… always sitting at the sides of your superiors and begging for the scraps that fall from the table. I'm surprised he puts up with you, frankly, considering how much better off he could be without your interference. Or does he really need a babysitter to hold his hand?"

        Honda sucked in a breath and slowly managed to calm down his nerves. Compared to the others, Honda had relaxed considerably when it came to dealing with Seto… not even Anzu had managed the patience that Honda had gained. It was almost as if he told himself to be more mature than Seto and not to worry about the insults that were constantly being thrown at him and his friends… something that sounded rather impossible at first but was really quite possible.

        So, rather than choosing to rise to the bait, Honda decided to get straight to the point. Besides, it might end up throwing Seto off-guard for a moment, and who wouldn't mind _that_?

        "So what are you doing here, Kaiba? Somehow, I doubt that this is just a courtesy call, right?"

        Seto frowned at the intercom, almost as if he was surprised at the sudden change in attitude. Which he probably was, since he had gotten so used to Yami no Yuugi's cheerleader friends always trying to insult him right back rather than being intelligent for a change.

        Or perhaps because… well, he had been expecting Ryuuji. Not Honda… sure, he had known that the two lived with each other, but he had never really understood their relationship. _Why_ did Ryuuji need to share rent, for example? That guy was rich enough to buy the entire building if he so desired (granted, he would probably be bankrupt afterwards), and there weren't exactly any practical reasons for it. He had, in those superfluous and decidedly unwelcome fits of insanity, sometimes wondered if their relationship was something deeper than it seemed… but that couldn't be right. Last he had heard, Honda was dating the make inu's sister, and Ryuuji was still single. It seemed to most people that the relationship was completely pragmatic… but that just did not explain why Ryuuji needed it in the first place.

        He might have pursued that train of thought further, but he was getting rather tired of standing outside. And the best way to get inside was to just stop fooling around and get this over with, so he explained (rather sourly, it must be added), "Otogi is supposed to come out here."

        "I told you. He doesn't wake up before nine on Saturdays. If even then. I'm sure he would have told you that if you had bothered to set a time."

        Well, no. But he was sure that was just a bit of oversight on Ryuuji's behalf. Honestly, if he was the one organizing this, they wouldn't have to waste time like this.

        "Are we going to continue this conversation through the intercom or are you going to let me up?" Seto replied smoothly and rather impatiently, his tone clearly saying that he had no interest in such a possibility. He was getting rather cold, and he didn't want to be standing outside any longer. Sure, maybe he had made a mistake by coming a bit too early… but that wasn't really _his_ fault, was it? He just didn't like to waste time.

        In the apartment, Honda scowled at the intercom, as if under the impression that Seto could actually see him. However, that didn't stop him from buzzing Seto into the apartment complex. After all, this was Seto… and they all knew Seto well enough to know that he wasn't a serial killer and….

        Then again, considering what had happened during Death-T, he might want to rethink that statement a bit more. Unfortunately, by this point, Seto was already in the building and Honda could only hope that _this_ time, Seto had left the hired assassins and chainsaw men at home [2].

~ * ~

        An awkward silence had settled between the two men upon Seto's arrival. Much to Honda's relief, Seto had indeed come alone and unarmed… in fact, he hadn't even brought the silver briefcase that was remarkably handy for knocking down innocent victims who he had just stolen cards from (a.k.a. Yuugi). The lack of weaponry, however, had not made the meeting any better, and Honda was decidedly wary as he let Seto into the apartment. 

        "So what now?" he finally asked.

        "You could wake him up," Seto replied flatly as he crossed his arms.

        For the first time that morning, Honda let himself smile, "You're welcome to try… I'm not going anywhere near his room right now. But let me warn you now, he's not going to be very happy if you do."

        "What? He needs his beauty sleep or something?"

        "You have _no_ idea."

        Seto had not replied to that, and Honda didn't push the matter. The two had, from there, settled down in the kitchen… or at least Honda had. Seto just sat at the table, leafing through the newspaper that he had brought idly after refusing any drinks or food. From the way he had so quickly refused, one would think that Honda had somehow drugged the food and spiked the drinks before offering them to the CEO.

        There was the sudden sound of the door opening, and two heads swiveled to look at the lone being walking down the hallway towards them.

        "Hon… da?"

        Seto couldn't help but stare as Ryuuji walked into the kitchen, one hand rubbing his half-closed eyes as he yawned again. And of course, there was a lot to be staring at, such as the normally meticulously kept black hair that was released from its tight ponytail, allowing it to fall down his back… as well as all over his face. Ryuuji's choice of clothes was also note-worthy; a plain black shirt and underwear dotted with little seal faces.

        Little. Seal. Faces.

        A moment of silence followed as Ryuuji blinked at the kitchen's occupants.

        Occupants. As in more than one.

        He blinked.

        And blinked again as he thought he recognized those blue eyes.

        "I must still be dreaming," he finally mumbled flatly as he turned and stumbled back towards his room at record speeds, shutting the door quietly as he entered and leaving one very shocked individual in his wake.

        Honda, on the other hand, could only try to hide his smile of amusement with a cough that caused Seto to turn back to him with an equally dispassionate look. It had always amazed him how Seto could change his expression in less than half a second, but it wasn't something he was going to comment on if he valued his life.

        "As entertaining as all of this has been, I need to get going. My customer presentation starts in half an hour and I don't think they'd like it if I explained that I was late because my roommate's boyfriend came early and wanted to be amused."

        Honda moved very quickly, and he had to be thankful for that. His words did not take that long for Seto to process, and as soon as the brunette had figured out _exactly_ what he had said, he was on his feet and frothing like a rabid dog that needed to be put down quickly.

        However, by this point, Honda had practically run out of the apartment, and the only response he got to his cursing was a slammed door in his face.

        For a moment, Seto could only gawk at the door in an almost horrified shock. This… this was not a good situation. He had just been completely one-upped by an idiot, and now he was trapped in an apartment with a half-naked sex god (nobody heard that, by the way) who wore underpants that had little seal faces.

        Perhaps Yami no Yuugi had taken over his body or something of the sort. After all, the pharaoh's spirit was the one who was obsessed with seals (even to the point when he had donated a vast majority of his money to wildlife foundations in order to save those fluffy creatures)… perhaps he as the one who was responsible for the rather interesting choice of clothes.

        The reminder of Yami no Yuugi brought about an odd pang… one that he had been able to ignore for a long time. He had no idea why these feelings were coming back, and it made him wonder if there was something in the air that was screwing around with his mind.

        Or… or maybe it was…?

        No. No, that was ridiculous. He wasn't even going to entertain that possibility. Ryuuji had nothing to do with these thoughts… had nothing to do with any of this. Ryuuji was a person, not some mystical being who was capable of bringing about such profound changes in his thinking.

        He wasn't _anyone_.

        Slowly, he walked back to the chair and sank in, folding his hands and resting his chin on them as he glanced around the kitchen. The last time he had been in a kitchen was when Yuriko had cooked, and her kitchen had been a messy, disorganized room that she managed to find her way around in a flurry of ingredients and dishes. His own kitchen, which he barely ventured into, was a stark contrast to it with the sterile white walls and structured patterns.

        Ryuuji's kitchen… or really Honda and Ryuuji's kitchen, but at the moment he had more important things to think about than how accurate his thoughts had to be… was a mix between the two. It wasn't messy but there was a certain sense of homeliness that could not be denied. The kitchen was obviously used but kept clean and neat, and there were signs of life everywhere there. A magnet frame with Yuugi-tachi stared at him from the refrigerator, and papers were scattered all over the table. Most of them were for Ryuuji's game, but there were also some scattered scribblings… unfinished drawings and sketches.

        He frowned as he flipped through the sketches. They ranged from people to scenes, and some of them were much better than others. Most of them were of… decent quality, at least.

        He had never expected Ryuuji to be able to draw. The raven-haired inventor just… had just never struck him as the artistic type.

        The things one learned everyday….

~ * ~

        Ryuuji did not wake up until past nine in the morning, and by that point he had more or less forgotten the events of the morning. So it was of no surprise that he got up and immediately went into his normal pattern of behavior… getting dressed, doing his hair, putting on the usual make-up, and in general making sure that his appearance was just as meticulously done as every other day of the year. There was a practiced calmness about his movements that only came from experience, and it wasn't long before he found himself opening the door and walking out.

        As soon as he got into sight of the kitchen though, he froze. And very nearly turned around to walk right back into his bedroom, except then Seto had to open his big fat mouth and say, "Did you get enough beauty sleep, Ryuuji?"

        "Shut up," he snapped before the words completely sunk in. "And what the heck did you just call me?"

        "Well, I figure that since I saw you in your precious seal-dotted pajamas, then our relationship must be intimate enough to go on a first name basis."

        "What?!" Ryuuji squeaked as his face started to turn very red as a certain scene began to flash through his head. A certain scene that mainly seemed to involve a very disgruntled and rumpled game creator standing in the doorway wearing an over-sized T-shirt and… oh kami-sama. The next word that came out of his mouth sounded very much like a small, agonized whimper as he covered his face with one hand, "No…."

        In a way, part of Ryuuji wondered why he was panicking so much about this incident. But the rest of him was too desperate trying to find a way out of this mess. Unfortunately, most of those ways seemed to involve the poor guy conveniently knocking himself out, or at the very least a certain blue-eyed brunette getting his ass kicked into the next century. Certainly nothing remotely plausible….

        "Been taking lessons from Yami again?" Personally, Seto was deriving a great deal of pleasure from Ryuuji's self-inflicted torture, but then again, this was Kaiba Seto we were talking about. If there was a day when he didn't get any amusement from somebody's pain, then the world was probably starting to come to an end. "Although really. It's one thing to be asking him for tips on how to play your own game… but fashion advice? You must really be hitting an all-time low if you are desperate enough to be asking him about that…."

        "Can't you just shut up for a change?!" Ryuuji snarled back as he finally straightened, temporarily forgetting his embarrassment in order to direct his anger at the CEO. "It's like you don't understand the concept of politeness… knowing you, I have no doubt of that, in fact. But honestly, can't you just _shut up_?!"

        The little outburst only caused Seto's eyebrow to quirk ever so slightly, "Is there some reason why I should? I thought you liked hearing the sound of my voice."

        "The only thing I like about you right now is the idea of you taking your ass off my chair and moving it outside this apartment. I'm sure you know the way, or do you need a guide dog to show you?"

        "That's quite rude, Ryuuji. Considering you were the one who invited me here. Is it my fault that you came traipsing around in your underwear?"

        "Maybe I did invite you but that doesn't mean I actually _wanted_ you here!" Ryuuji shrieked back. "And stop calling me that!"

        "It's your name, isn't it?"

        "I don't call you 'Seto', do I?!"

        "I never said you couldn't."

        The billionaire's calmness was really starting to get on his nerves. Correction… it had gotten on his nerves a long time ago, but now he was just at the stage where he was completely losing any sense of logic.

        "Get out!"

        Seto didn't budge. "No."

        "Get out before I make you!"

        "And how do you propose to do that?" Seto asked an almost tired tone. As amusing as all of this was, Ryuuji's little temper tantrum was starting to get a bit… well, overused. He couldn't help but wonder why Ryuuji was bothering to even try and threaten him if he didn't leave… let alone actually physically try to make him leave. He was also relatively surprised that Ryuuji could lose control so easily. Of course, he knew that the raven-haired man didn't have nearly as much self-control as he did, but this was borderline ridiculous. Every single time it seemed like somebody was taking away control from him, Ryuuji would just snap.

        Then again, he tended to do the exact same thing. Except Seto did something very intelligent to ever keep that from happening; he kept that control as much as he possibly could.

        Simple, really.

        "Look," he decided to try and be a little civil, although only god knew why. Even Seto wasn't sure, and this was his own brain! He was rather annoyed by that concept, since if there was one thing Seto had to have control over, it was definitely his brain. Unfortunately, his mind seemed to have a different idea, and it preferred to run all over the world naked singing 'walla walla walla!' at the top of its nonexistent lungs.

        Luckily, Seto had become very good at functioning on auto-pilot.

        Ryuuji glared, impatiently waiting for whatever Seto was going to say next. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like it, but it wasn't as if he had a choice. Seto was a very stubborn person, and if he wanted somebody to listen… well, that person listened. Besides, he couldn't help but be a little curious about what the ass was going to say. Not that he would ever admit it, of course!

        "You asked me here, whether or not you actually meant for me to come. I fulfilled my part of the bargain, which was actually taking the time out of my life to come here. You've already wasted enough of my time, and I'm not going to leave until you fulfill your part of the deal, got it?"

        "You could always leave," Ryuuji repeated even louder, as if hoping that by ignoring what Seto said he would somehow get rid of the stubborn brunette.

        "And make this a complete waste of my time?" Seto raised an eyebrow. "Don't make me laugh, _Ryuuji_."

        Ryuuji could practically feel the vein in his forehead throbbing as Seto emphasized the use of his first name. Simply put, Ryuuji wasn't very comfortable with people using his first name; it made him feel very awkward. The only person who had used his first name in the recent past was Malik, and before him… his parents.

        Parents were never a very comfortable subject for Ryuuji to broach. His mother had died relatively young and rather unexpectedly. And his father… ah, his father. Never a subject that he wanted to go anywhere near. Sometimes, he wondered what his father was doing… where his father was. But that usually led to that small voice in his head whispering 'as long as he isn't here…', which always led to a small sigh of relief that seemed to be permanently lodged in the back of his throat.

        But here… in the now? Ryuuji didn't want Seto using his first name, even in such a mocking gesture. Or was it because it was a mocking gesture? He couldn't be sure of anything these days.

        It was just that the use of his first name – the symbol of closeness in Japanese society – was something that brought up memories of people who were close enough to hurt him _that_ much.

        At that particular moment though, he chose to block it all out. "Are you actually implying that you have a sense of humor?"

        "I don't care what you think I'm implying. I told you what I'm here for, and I told you what it would take to make me leave."

        "… but you promise you'll leave as soon as I teach you?"

        "Something like that," Seto smirked as he put down the book he had been reading. Ryuuji didn't look very pleased with this development, and it was a wonder he was going along with it so easily. "Interesting drawings, by the way."

        Interesting was one of those words which could mean just about anything. It wasn't like 'nice' or 'bad', which actually expressed an opinion, albeit a mild one. Interesting, on the other hand, could mean both. It could show an awe for an object, but at the same time it could be a turn of phrase essentially saying 'How oddly pathetic… I wonder how that is possible? Interesting.'

        Which is why, in short, Ryuuji was absolutely unpacified by the statement. If anything, he was annoyed by it, as it proved that Seto had been going through his private belongings. Sure, those sketches had been lying there for anyone to see… but that didn't mean that Seto actually had permission to look through them! It didn't matter what Seto could have said; anything could have been misinterpreted into something negative and the same, uncaring and irrational annoyance would appear.

        Thus, after Ryuuji pointed Seto down the hall into the game room that he had set up (not specifically for this occasion, of course), Ryuuji stayed back for a moment to shuffle his pictures together into a messy, unorganized pile.

        _"I don't call you 'Seto', do I?!"_

_        "I never said you couldn't."_

        It took him about twenty seconds to crumple up all the pictures and stuff the remains into the trash can.

~ * ~

        If there was one word Seto would have used to describe Ryuuji, it was that he was a strategist. Which he had to be, since the game he had created relied more on strategy than on strength. Figuring out how the dice should fall, which ones to choose… it couldn't be only about power, the theme that Seto had for so long relied on when it came to his deck. No, this was about something completely different… something that came naturally to Ryuuji for reasons that he couldn't quite figure out.

        Not that he actually wanted to, of course.

        "I told you that you shouldn't choose so many high-powered dice, Seto. You're not Yami-kun… you can't rely on luck every time. The point of the game is to have monsters that can _defend _you. The player with the most monsters doesn't always win, of course, but sometimes it can be a great advantage because it gives the opponent a distraction while the player can find some way to exercise a more complicated strategy," Ryuuji said for what had to be the millionth time as Seto rolled his dice only to come up with mismatched symbols. "Is there some reason why you didn't listen, or are you just deliberately trying to annoy me?"

        "The world doesn't revolve around you," Seto replied shortly without ever looking up. His board was practically empty, with only two monsters. Ryuuji's side was practically teeming with them, and Seto couldn't help but note that Ryuuji had once again made sure to stretch his pathway from one side to the other, thus forcing him to find a way to destroy all of Ryuuji's monsters before he could reach his opponent's Dungeon Master.

        "It doesn't revolve around you either, in case you haven't noticed."

        "I didn't ask you."

        The two fell into a silence again as Seto glared at the board, as if hoping that by the power of his glare, Ryuuji's pieces would jump up screaming and scatter all over the place to give him free range of the entire board. Unfortunately, despite his best attempts, the pieces stayed where they were.

        Ryuuji rolled his eyes and threw the dice, not even bothering to announce it. His dice had been very low-leveled ones, so as expected he got a monster. Tiredly, he picked up one of the three dice and placed it on the board in the only area left on Seto's half of the area.

        "You've basically just lost again, you know," Ryuuji looked at him. "Are you even bothering to concentrate? I thought that the great Kaiba Seto would be a more interesting opponent."

        He should have been, shouldn't he?

        But for some reason, he just couldn't concentrate. He knew all the rules… understood the main points of the game. But right now, he couldn't take that information and apply it. It was as if everything had gotten stuck at some faucet and refused to come out, leaving him only with… himself.

        It didn't help that his thoughts kept wandering back to last night. The way Ryuuji had looked at him, with that shocked and almost betrayed expression.

        Betrayed?

        No, that couldn't be right. That… just couldn't be right. And even if it was, that was Ryuuji's problem. Not his. What did he care about any petty feelings Ryuuji might have? Which were none, of course, but anyhow… yes. There was nothing here that he had to worry about.

        Except for the fact that over the past few days, the only thing he had been thinking about was… well, Ryuuji. Understandable, since he had waken up to find said idiot lying in his bed. But really, this should have been the type of thing that he immediately dropped, rather than stretched on for an indefinite amount of time.

        The deal for civility, for example, had really been just that. An attempt to cure himself of having to think about Ryuuji, since wasn't anger the entire basis of their relationship (if one wanted to go so far as to call it that, of course)?

        Perhaps it had been, in the beginning… but now? He couldn't be so sure of that now.

        And that single fact disturbed him more than one would imagine.

        "I guess you want to start over," Ryuuji grumbled, bringing him out of his little frolic through the mind of an obvious madman. Ryuuji was becoming extremely annoyed, especially since they had been playing for several hours and he didn't seem to be getting anywhere. There were advantages to playing against Yuugi [3], apparently, even if some of the disadvantages included getting his ass kicked quite mightily.

        Seto didn't bother to reply, his answer already clear.

        Or at least, that's what Ryuuji figured.

        But as he was cleaning up the pieces, a clear and calm voice suddenly slammed right into him like a ton of very spiky bricks, "What's that?"

        Ryuuji paused in his movements to look at Seto with an extremely skeptical expression. Currently, Seto was in a very typical 'Kaiba-Seto-I-Know-Everything' pose, with his body leaned back into the chair and his elbows resting on the arm rests, the fingers of his hands knitted together as he looked at something behind Ryuuji's head. Perhaps that was why he was so skeptical; after all, why would Seto be in _that_ pose yet still be asking a question? It seemed rather contradictory, if you asked him.

        However, nobody was asking him. So, sighing loudly and without even bothering to turn around, he snapped back, "It's a painting."

        "I know it's a painting," Seto replied in an exaggeratedly calm monotone. "What is it supposed to be about?"

        For a moment, Ryuuji didn't reply. He didn't want to reply. What he wanted to do was stick his tongue out at Seto and say something along the lines of 'that's for me to know and you to find out!', but that wouldn't be very mature so he didn't. Instead, he continued to glare at Seto for some hint at what was wrong with him… perhaps Honda had drugged his drink? Or he had been inhaling some rather oddly colored fumes? Or maybe…?

        No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find anything.

        "It's a sky," he finally mumbled.

        "A sky."

        "Is there some sort of problem with that?" he shot back. When there wasn't any reply, he continued, even though he knew that he didn't really need to.

        But part of him wanted to. It was the first time anyone had asked him about the painting, and even though it just _had_ to be Kaiba Seto who was observant enough to wonder about it, there was a part of him that wanted to explain it.

        There was also a part of him that wanted to string up that particular part and burn it alive, but that is a completely different story.

        "When kaasan [4] was painting it, I asked her what it was supposed to mean. She told me that it was supposed to mean anything I wanted because it was open to interpretation. Looking at the sky, she said, could mean lots of different things. Some people think of freedom while others feel like the weight of the world is starting to cave in on them. I didn't really understand it when she told me… I was pretty young. But she told me that it was supposed to mean anything you wanted it to mean, and that was like life. It all depends on your interpretation. You do what you see fit, and your life is meaningful only if you think it is. And in the end, that's all that matters. Not what anyone else thinks. Only you. Nothing means anything if you don't think it does, no matter what everyone else tells you. And anything can mean everything as long as you believe it does."

        Seto couldn't help but stare at Ryuuji… not only because of what he was saying, but because of the way he looked. The other man had a slightly glazed-over look and an odd half-smile as he relived the memories… memories that meant so much to him even though he hadn't been able to understand them at the time.

        The things one learned everyday….

        "She died after that. And with tousan [5], none of that stuff ever mattered. I think he would have thrown away the painting except it was the last one, and that wouldn't look good to everyone else. So he kept it, and after he left, I kept it. I think she would have liked that."

        Seto didn't say anything, not a word. And by this point, Ryuuji had noticed the look that he was being given. Somehow, he managed not to blush or become flustered or anything to show discomfort with what had happened; instead, he continued to clean up the board in order to prepare for a new game.

        A new game. A new chance.

        A new chance at just about anything.

Commentary:

[1] You followed by any expletive that you so wish to put there.

[2] Referring to volumes 4 through 5 where Seto basically created a theme park completely devoted to killing off Yuugi-tachi. Quite worrisome, really. The chainsaw man refers to chapter 32 when in order to save Georgie (Honda's perverted nephew… and I swear, that is what Kei-kun told me his name was! I heard they did something different in the translations, but she told me that it was supposed to be that!), Jyounouchi ended up facing off with a serial killer that had a happy chainsaw (okay, so that isn't the exact description, but he wears a mask and has a chainsaw. End of story.). Oh, and I think the serial killer dies at the end of that little face-off. Takahashi-san was a tad bit more morbid back then…. ^.^;;

[3] In the manga, Yuugi played against Ryuuji, not Yami no Yuugi. Yami no Yuugi was a bit… ah… busy with the fact that his puzzle was somewhat broken.

[4] Kaasan, short for okaasan, which means mother.

[5] Tousan, short for otousan, which means father.

        *jumps around and raises hand in the air* Hai, minna~! PM can be a total sap person when she wants to be! *giggles* But at least the title is finally explained… uh… kinda.

And for a bit of humor, courtesy of rayemars-san:
    
    "The two fell into a silence again as Seto glared at the board, as if hoping that by the power of his glare, Ryuuji's pieces would jump up screaming and scatter all over the place to give him free range of the entire board. Unfortunately, despite his best attempts, the pieces stayed where they were."
    
    Seto: Oh, wait...I was using the wrong power. It's not the glare, it's....
    
    Seto: ...the power of YUKI'S!!!!!
    
    Ryuuji: ....
    
    Seto: *waves hand dramatically* Yuki's! I call you forth! Attack with CUTENESS POWER~!
    
    Ryuuji: *promptly buried under a pile of stuffed seals*

=(^.^)=

Pikachumaniac 


	7. Kuchizuke

Painted Sky

      *wibbles into the scene… blinks at everyone… and promptly passes out*

      Yuki: *nudges PM before sighing* =(@.@)=

      Translation: She's been kinda tired lately so I might as well give out the information this time. The first scene takes place on Friday (so we're skipping nearly a week) but the rest of the chapter takes place next Sunday! =(^.^)= Enjoy!

Many thanks to rayemars-san and the readers! ^____^ Ah… gomen, rayemars-san, for this chapter's lousy spelling… I still have no idea how the spell check decided to stop working for this chapter! Oo;; Anyhow, thanks! *glomp*

kimi no vanilla ~ Really? Because when I told Kei-kun, she's like 'It's Georgie'. And I'm sitting there going 'BUT THAT'S AN AMERICAN NAME! *wail wail wail* And then she probably smacked me to shut me up or something… but anyhow. *whistles innocently before glomping* Wah! Thanks for reading! XD I'm hoping to brainwash the world into liking this coupling *shifty eyes* but I doubt it's working so far. *sigh*

Tuulikki ~ It is inhumane. And it's inhumane on a weekday too, but do I dare tell my teachers that? Nooo. No wonder I have a B+ or so in Calculus… *sob* Gah. Studying is evil right now. *sobbu* My brain has completely ceased to function… especially when it comes to school and writing. It's a curse I tell you! XD

Rowan and Sakura ~ XD Yah, I heard about his name… but what Kei-kun told me. *glares at Kei-kun with the might of one whose tiny brain has completely dissolved* Gah. Don't mind me. *laughs* Anyhow… *hands over some ice for the swelling* XD But to be truthful, I can't take all credit for the 'walla walla walla' line. It was actually inspired by some Dilbert comic strips… I haven't read it in a while but it stuck in my mind so much that I just couldn't forget! *giggles*

Ninetails ~ Dragon Dice and Dungeons! Dragon Dice and Dungeons! Or something like that. *shrugs innocently* And yes, the Seto/Yami relationshi had to come in. I have to brainwash you somehow, right? *shakes head* I can't believe his name though… IT'S SO BLOODY SHORT!!!! *runs off screaming*

Vulpes Demond of fuzzy ears ~ XD Here. Update. *giggle*

Anime Girl Sasami ~ *eyes pop out* WOW! *mauls* Did I EVER tell you how much I love/adore/worship your reviews? I really do… it's because you pick up on basically EVERYTHING I try to do, and sometimes things that I didn't even know I was doing! It's amazing, really, and I love it so much. Ryuuji, you sex-god… *dies and giggles* God, I love reading your reviews so much. I really do. *mauls* There wasn't anything I needed to address in there, right? Oo;; Gomen if there was… but my brain is totally down right now. I lost all my brain cells squealing over the fact that I *finally* got to watch Todd Eldredge skate since the Winter Olympics. ^^;; But seriously. *maul* I love your reviews. Love. Worship. Will let go now. *giggles* And to answer your question… the whore who has everything wants an ax. Bloody idiot finished reading 'Crime and Punishment' and now is eyeing me oddly… *whimper*.

Lady Shriannan Santrea ~ XD Yuki doesn't need a fanclub. Really. If his head gets any more swollen, his stuffing will be popping out. *somewhat traumatized by that thought Oo;;* And thanks! ^_^ I think I'm getting the hang of physics finally….

MarmaladeGirl ~ XD Seto's a bit too power-obsessed to be able to flip to only strategic, I think. Plus he was distracted by the lovely creature in front of him. *grin* And to answer your question about "Spring Tulips"… well, I haven't been working on it lately but it's not dead. I'm not giving it up. I just need some time right now but all my free time is being consumed by this fic. ^^;; I'm hoping to get chapter 3 done over the break, but I'm just not sure I'll have time. *hangs head shamefully*

Bronze Eagle ~ I don't think Seto knew, but it's hard to tell with him. -_-;; Yah, it would be awkward… but I don't think Seto quite cares. *sweatdrop* Oops?

Alana Hikari-Chan ~ XD Angst? But this is supposed to be… happy. Somewhat. Kinda. Uh. *coughs* Moving on! *glomps* 

Kkkkkkkk (I hope I got that right… Oo;;) ~ *laughs* Yah, it seems kind of strange that I made my reputation with Seto/Ryou and have now moved onto something else… but I like this coupling! It's different, but I still think it works! ;p Thanks for giving it a chance! *grin*

~ Kuchizuke (Kiss) ~

        Every month, on the third Friday, Yuugi would call everyone up and ask them if they wanted to watch whatever movie was out. This was a way of getting together on a regular basis in case something was happening, and it usually worked out fine as long as there was something decent to watch (if there wasn't… well, that meant that there were going to be some very unamused people sniping at the poor movie and often times an ill-tempered thief threatening to send the entire place into darkness if some blood wasn't spilled soon).

        Since it was on the same weekend of every month, there was no excuse not to go unless it was something extremely important. Honda had once skipped out because of a meeting with a client that had taken the majority of the weekend, for example, and Ryou was sick with the flu another time. Usually though, the situation worked out to everyone's convenience and the small, tight-knit group was able to watch a movie and have some good laughs with each other.

        There were three exceptions to this 'everyone must go' rule. Two of these exceptions were the spirits of the Sennen Items, as it was commonly assumed that if they declined, it meant that they were in their one bedroom, one bathroom, one room for everything else apartment screwing like bunnies. Jyounouchi had once had the audacity (or perhaps he was simply drunk at the time) to ask the two about it, only to find himself being chased all over Domino City by a rather ill-tempered dark monster while Yami no Bakura stood to the side laughing his head off. It wasn't until Yami no Yuugi had threatened him with things that must not be mentioned that the white-haired thief finally called off his pet.

        It more or less now went unsaid now that when Yami no Bakura was involved, questions were not to be asked.

        The third exception to this rule was, of course, Kaiba Seto. Nobody could figure out why Yuugi even bothered to ask him, as the CEO always declined. In fact, the conversations between the game shop owner and billionaire always went along the lines of this:

        Yuugi: Kaiba-kun! I was wondering if–.

        Seto: No. *hangs up*

        When Yami no Yuugi used to still live with Yuugi, and when Seto still took the time to pretend to listen to the former pharaoh, there would often be a second part of the conversation that went like this:

        Yam no Yuugi: Kaiba! Why'd you hang up on aibou like that?!

        Seto: Because I didn't want to talk to him. And I don't want to talk to you either.

        Yami no Yuugi: You're coming.

        Seto: No I'm not. *hangs up*

        Again, there was never any variation.

        The pharaoh usually didn't bother to call again after that, and for good reason. As for Seto… well, no matter how many times Yuugi had asked in the past and Yami no Yuugi had demanded for him to attend, he never bothered to think about it as soon as he pressed the off button on his phone.

~ * ~

        "I don't see why you bother…."

        Yuugi sighed as the spirit browsed through the new card deck packets that had come into the game shop the last week. Yuugi had grown but was still somewhat short compared to just about everyone, including his grandfather who had long since retired. He had 'inherited' the game shop after his mother and grandfather had moved to a smaller apartment, leaving him and Anzu to their own devices. Yuugi and Anzu had, more than once, asked them to move back, but they had always declined. And after Yami no Yuugi had left to go live with the thief… the game shop had suddenly become very empty.

        Although right now, with the spirit ragging on him, Yuugi wished that he and Anzu could be living by themselves in a very, very, very empty place.

        "He's one of our friends, mou hitori no boku [1]. We have to give him a chance to come if he wants to."

        "But he never wants to," Yami no Yuugi replied before blinking. "Can I have this?"

        "He might though! And yes, you can have it," Yuugi sighed as he continued cleaning the glass counters. "That'd be five hundred yen [2]."

        "Say what?"

        By the point of this indignant shriek, Yuugi was already ignoring him and starting to dial the phone. As soon as somebody picked up on the other end, he gave the spirit a glare, causing the much older man to huff and go back to his precious card packet, "Moshi moshi? [3] Can I please speak to Kaiba-kun?"

        "He's going to say no. He says that every time," the former pharaoh sighed as he started to open the small packet. Sometimes, he honestly wished that his former host would understand that Kaiba Seto didn't want to have anything to do with the two of them, although his resilience after about seventeen-hundred rejections was somewhat admirable. He frowned as he looked at the five cards [4] that he had just unwrapped, and proceeded to ignore Yuugi's desperate attempts in favor of something more interesting. Yuugi couldn't help but smile at this; while Yuugi still liked to play Magic and Wizards, he was nowhere near as obsessive as the pharaoh was.

        "What cards did you get?" Yuugi leaned back to look at the man who was currently staring at the newly received cards with an odd expression.

        "Uh…" Yami no Yuugi frowned as he held up a level four card with a 1650 attack and 1700 defense. "Don't you think this looks like Yuki?"

        Yuugi sweatdropped as he again wondered what could have possessed him to ever give the little stuffed seal to Yami no Yuugi. Of course he knew the answer – the two had been having troubles connecting, and the white fuzz ball had been a gift in an attempt for the two to come to know each other better. In a way, it was a symbol of their bond… although sometimes, the pharaoh seemed to be a little bit too obsessive with the seal. It had gotten to the point that the Black Magician was often _complaining_ about his master's obsession with the poor thing… which only led to Yami no Yuugi's attempts to somehow get the two together, completely forgetting that Yuki just _happened to be an inanimate object_. Luckily, before he could start pounding his head against the wall at the insanity of all of this, he was distracted when Seto's secretary asked him to wait while she transferred the call. He was mildly surprised to be able to recognize the voice as the person he had spoken to last time; Seto had a rather nasty tendency of going through secretaries as most people went through toilet paper.

        "I think it looks like Yuki. Do you think that whoever is making these new cards stole the design?"

        "I thought that all the card designs came from Egypt."

        "Only the ones that Pegasus J. Crawford designed [5]. And it's not like they had seals back in Egypt, right? Did they have seals back then? I thought seals were ocean animals. Maybe they lived in the Nile?"

        "Mou hitori no boku…."

        "Do you think Yuki should sue? Isn't this copyright infringement? I don't think Yuki gave them permission to put him on a card, no matter how much of an honor it is."

        "You've been watching way too much TV…" Yuugi sighed. This would have been the point where he put one hand on his hips while he wagged a finger at the spirit in as patronizing manner as a not-even-in-his-mid-twenties young man could do with a three thousand year old pharaoh, if not for the fact that one of those said hands were busy keeping the phone plastered to his ear. The last thing he needed, after all, was for Seto to finally get back to him only for him to be off in la-la land (at the fault of Yami no Yuugi, most likely). He certainly didn't want to give the somewhat litigious billionaire any reason to sue him for an extreme and not to mention non-existent amount of money.

        It didn't help, however, that there was absolutely no sound coming from the phone except a very faint amount of static. Kaiba Seto wasn't exactly the type of person to put that annoying elevator music interrupted every twenty seconds by a mechanized voice lying about how somebody would be with the victim shortly… he probably found it to be a waste of money, no matter how little an amount it really was.

        "I think I should at least advise Yuki of his legal rights… I've been watching a lot of that American show [6] and I think I could really do it."

        Yuugi rolled his eyes. It often surprised him how… strange the pharaoh could be. At times he seemed to have settled in reasonably well to the modern world, especially since it had been several years since he had emerged from the Sennen Puzzle. But at times like this, he really had to wonder.

        Right when he was about to say something gentle and not altogether heart-breaking and dream-shattering, Seto's cold, crisp voice calmly came over the phone, "What."

        It wasn't even a question.

        "Kaiba-kun!" Yuugi greeted cheerfully. Yami frowned and shook his head as he returned to his newly gotten card, keeping to himself the question of just _how_ Yuugi could remain so annoyingly optimistic when the obtuse, stubborn-minded Kaiba Seto was involved. But as if still able to hear his thoughts, Yuugi shot him a somewhat dirty look that Yami could not fail to see (this led to said pharaoh sticking his tongue out), choosing instead to concentrate on the present conversation with the rather short-tempered CEO. "I was wondering…."

        "Fine."

        "… if you…. _What?!"_

        Seto didn't even have the dignity to reply. He just hung up, leaving poor Yuugi to give the phone a stupefied stare as the dial tone suddenly came blasting across loudly.

        "Am I going to have to call him back again?" Yami no Yuugi asked in a bored tone. He didn't even look up from his new card that he had already dubbed 'Yuki', so he wasn't able to see the shocked look on Yuugi's face.

        "I… iya…."

        "You sure?"

        The question was only a bit sarcastic. But just a bit. Really.

        "He said yes."

        Silence.

        Yami no Yuugi stared at him, "Are you okay, aibou?"

        He had to be hallucinating. This was, after all, Kaiba Seto. Kaiba Seto did not say yes to these types of things. Kaiba Seto did not leave his cozy mansion in order to go watch movies with Yuugi-tachi. Kaiba Seto did not have a life and did not even pretend to have one.

        Kaiba Seto could not have said yes.

        "He said yes," Yuugi repeated slowly in order to make sure that Yami no Yuugi had heard him. Which the spirit had, obviously, or he wouldn't be staring at his former host with an expression that openly seemed to speak of hospitals, large doses of drugs, straitjackets, and lobotomies.

        "Who said yes?" Anzu asked. She was currently leaning against the doorframe as she wiped her hands with a towel, her large blue eyes looking at the two brother-like figures staring at each other with the same dumbfounded expressions. "What's wrong, guys?"

        There was a long silence as the two looked at each other, obviously waiting for the other to speak. Unfortunately, their usual mental connection seemed to be a bit off because neither seemed to be able to communicate anything to the other. Finally though, Yuugi managed to turn back to his wife, stammering, "Ka… Kaiba-kun. He… he said yes."

        "Kaiba-kun?" Anzu frowned slightly as she processed the newfound information. "You mean to the movie Sunday night, right?

        "Yes," Yami no Yuugi added finally.

        "Oh," was the simple reply before she shrugged slightly and straightened. "Dinner will be ready in about twenty minutes. Are you both going to be coming?"

        "You're not surprised?" her husband blinked in shock as he exchanged a look with mou hitori no Yuugi, who only grimaced and shrugged.

        "Well, didn't you see the way the two of them looked at each other?" Anzu asked. When all she got were two extremely blank looks, she threw her hands up in the air as she turned and walked back to the kitchen. "Men…."

~ * ~

        That past week had not been what one could call exceptionally good. Ryuuji had finally managed to settle back into an ordinary life… or as ordinary a life as one could have when a certain arrogant, pissy, annoying, stubborn pain-in-the-ass seemed to be stalking you to where ever you went. Honestly, Ryuuji could not figure it out. One moment he would be buying a newspaper and breakfast at the local café and the next thing he knew, he was sitting down to eat said breakfast with Seto! Not that the two actually had any conversation… instead, the great billionaire himself leeched his newspaper without ever saying a word. And there had been other run-ins too, none of which he wanted to remember. However, he was now starting to believe that Domino was quite large enough so that the two could easily avoid each other for the rest of their lives… but instead they were seeing each other once a day. The only reason why he hadn't seen him yesterday was because he had stayed home the entire day to get some paperwork done, but considering his recent run of his luck, the brunette was going to show up any….

        "Kaiba-kun! Glad you could make it!"

        … moment.

        Ryuuji could only watch, completely aghast, as Seto practically seemed to prance towards them, scattering people as he stepped closer. His mind was screeching (with a very high pitch), demanding to know _why_ the brunette was here when he _never_ came to the movie get-togethers. _Never_. Yami no Yuugi had told them long ago that Seto would not come until hell froze over, and since the two were rivals, the Sennen Puzzle's spirit could more or less be considered an authority on the topic.

        Except for the fact that… well… Seto was here right now.

        Yuugi looked quite giddy about Seto's appearance, while Jyounouchi had the equivalent expression of Ryuuji. Ryou and Mai seemed to be completely unfazed, Anzu and Honda looked positively giddy (no, he had no idea why), and the two spirits just continued to argue with each other about whether or not it really was wrong to mind crush the drivers who deliberately tried to run over innocent pedestrians whilst going about four times over the speed limit (Yami no Yuugi was having a bit of trouble trying to defend himself, and Yami no Bakura was just pleased as punch at being able to expose him for the blood-thirsty demon that he truly was).

        "Hmm," was the reply.

        Ryuuji had the most inexplicable urge to _scream_. Somehow he kept himself from doing it, but it was a pretty close call… especially when the brunette looked over and smirked. This led to much wondering about whether or not it was illegal to rip out certain body parts when provoked.

        As the others started to flit away in order to figure out what movie to watch, Ryuuji found himself face to face with Seto, an extremely annoyed frown on his face, "What are you doing here?"

        Seto smirked, "Yuugi asked me."

        "I _know_ he asked you. He asks you _every_ time. But you never come. What changed your mind this time?" Ryuuji snapped back, even as the annoying little voice in his head quietly asked if he really wanted to know the answer to that. Obviously, he didn't… but part of him did. Which made him want to kill that little part of him, but that was a completely different story.

        "That's for me to know and you to find out," the brunette had the same, infuriating expression on his face that made people instinctively want to hit him (or maybe that was just the impression that the other man got). Ryuuji resisted the urge to kick him. This time though, he didn't even bother to say anything about Seto's use of his first name, instead choosing to glare in the hope that he would suddenly gain laser eye vision and turn the brunette into a puddle of unrecognizable goo.

        "I never thought you would be the type to resort to cliché's," Ryuuji snarled, his arms folded and his green eyes just somewhat bitter. "Did you eat something funny?"

        "It might have been that bread you shared with me on Wednesday."

        "I did not _share_ with you. You _took_ it. Never thought a great billionaire like you would have to resort to stealing from poor game inventors like myself."

        "Are you two love birds going to keep talking like that or are we going to go in?" Honda suddenly complained loudly, cutting off any reply Seto was about to make. Honda's remark, however, caused both men to start and stare at him with an expression that seemed to ask what drugs had he been taking… and if he hadn't been taking drugs and had no other valid excuse for the smart remark… well, then he was talking himself into an early grave.

        "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Seto said simply as he walked past Honda and Ryuuji, pausing only to get the ticket from Yuugi before entering the theater.

        "I'm not going to be that forgiving, rest assured," Ryuuji snarled as he glared at Honda before starting to jab him with a finger. "What the _hell_ was that about?!"

        "Well, the way you two always argue could compare with Jyounouchi and Mai…."

        "_So?!_ Since when does arguing become a declaration of love?! Since when did you have any idea about whether a relationship has started? Since when did…."

        "What did you just say about Katsuya and me?!" Mai suddenly shrieked, and Honda found himself being confronted by two rather PMS-y people who both wanted to cut him up into little pieces and scatter it within a fifteen hundred meter radius so that nobody could ever be able to piece the body back together.

        "Nothing…."

        "I'm going to…."

        Luckily for Honda, Yuugi took the opportunity to save him before any bodily harm could come to the poor brunette. This resulted in much kissing of feet and worshipping as Yuugi suddenly found himself being dragged down by the before-mentioned idiot clinging onto his legs.

~ * ~ 

        The movie was a new one that had been highly anticipated by just about everyone on the planet, and the small group had not thought ahead about how many people there would be. Thus, by the time they went into the theater, it was terribly crowded, making it more or less impossible for them to squeeze ten people together. This of course resulted in the group having to split up. Yami no Bakura and Yami no Yuugi, who had no interest in the movie anyway, were dropped off in the back where it was hoped that the movie would be good enough to distract any of the nearby people from two spirits trying to add a new place to their list of locations where sex _was_ possible, despite what most people thought. Then Jyounouchi managed to find enough seats for four people, which was quickly occupied by the two remaining couples, leaving the last four victims by themselves. Ryou managed to spot another twosome seat, and before anybody could blink Honda had dragged him there with a vague excuse that he needed to tell the poor, white-haired man something.

        By this point, Ryuuji was audibly snarling. Honda made a quick mental note to buy a strong lock for his door and a muzzle for the raven-haired man as he walked away, leaving Seto and Ryuuji standing there. He also decided to ignore the fact that he was having holes drilled into him by a pair of very annoyed green eyes.

        There was a silence as the two stood there for a moment, looking warily at each other. Or Ryuuji looked wary, at least, while Seto just continued to glance around for a seat.

        "Well, I'll be going that way. So you can go that way, which, I might add, is in the opposite direction. So have a nice time, don't forget to write, and… what on earth do you think you're doing?!" Ryuuji's voice reached a very high-pitched squeak when Seto simply took his wrist and started to drag him forward.

        "There's two seats up there."

        "So?!"

        Now, Ryuuji knew that he was being completely impossible and annoyingly whiny, but that was more or less the point of his current behavior. After all, who would want to sit through an entire movie with a crazy stalker? Never mind that Seto wasn't technically crazy (although one could get a variety of answers depending on the source) and that he was really just exaggerating when it came to calling the brunette a stalker.

        Perhaps.

        The theater doors were closed so there was no need to worry about anybody taking the seats. Still, Seto was getting rather impatient with Ryuuji's behavior, so he let go and crossed his arms to give the raven-haired man a long stare. "The movie is going to start soon. There are some perfectly good seats up there. But if you want, you're welcome to spend the next couple of minutes searching for a seat in the dark if you want to be so stubborn. It's up to you – I don't really care what you choose to do, although you're sure putting yourself through a lot of trouble to avoid me."

        "Who said I was avoiding you?" Ryuuji gritted back, glaring at the brunette with narrowed green eyes. "The world doesn't revolve around you, and mine certainly can do perfectly well without you."

        Seto rolled his eyes. The lights were already starting to dim, and so he decided that it was time to stop playing around. He hadn't wasted his money to miss the movie, no matter how little it cost compared to the fortune he had amassed.

        So, before Ryuuji could say anything else, he turned around and walked away, leaving Ryuuji standing there glaring holes into the back of his head.

        It was hard to tell what thoughts were going through his head at this point. Part of him was extremely pleased that Seto was finally leaving him alone… but as the lights kept getting darker and the brunette farther away, he started to feel something very odd that could not be explained.

        Did he really want this?

        He would have shaken his head if he wasn't worried about looking like a complete psychopath (not that he had avoided this. After all, he was standing in the middle of a movie theater with a rather blank look on his face after arguing with a very recognizable CEO, and now everyone was watching him with more interest than they would ever show the movie). No, that was definitely not a question that he wanted to think about. Never mind that he was starting to feel… feel _something_ that could be mistaken for interest.

        Interest was a safe word.

        _Interesting drawings, by the way_.

        He had thrown away those drawings.

        He wondered why he had done such a thing.

        He wanted to tell himself that the sketches hadn't really been anything, since all of them had been made on the back of old business papers while he was watching TV. Most of the time, he wasn't sure what he was drawing until he had gotten some form that could be turned into something plausible.

        His mother had been the one who had taught him to draw… not that she actually set him down and drew with him, but he had always liked to watch her. And she was the one who had interested him in it, although he had never taken the time to go through art lessons.

        Nobody had really commented on his drawings. Certainly not his father, who had always tried to throw away his random scribblings if they weren't related to his game. In the end, the reason why there had been such variety in the creatures of his game was because he had needed an excuse for those before-mentioned random scribblings.

        It wasn't something big, just something he did when he was bored. Even the papers from the seminar had been covered in small sketches (most of them had involved one figure with a ponytail strangling a taller figure, but that was something he preferred to keep to himself), although not as many since he had been so busy contemplating more creative ways to cause the immediate expiration of a certain brunette.

        To say that Seto's comments had made him feel remarkably awkward was somewhat of an understatement. He didn't know why he cared so much about what the brunette had to say… after all, he and Yuugi-tachi had made somewhat of a career in learning how to ignore Seto's existence.

        "Aren't you going?" somebody suddenly hissed.

        A blush crawled up his face, but nobody could see it because it was so dark. Somehow managing to keep himself from stamping his foot in anger, he walked towards the area where Seto had gone. At the end, the only reason why he managed to find Seto was because the brunette's head was higher up than most of the other's around him.

        When he sank into the seat, he took a certain amount of pleasure from the fact that the CEO didn't say anything mocking or contemptuous.

        In fact, Seto didn't say anything.

~ * ~

        "Where are we going?"

        "Never mind that," Honda replied hastily as he dragged Ryou out of the theater as quickly as he could, trying to avoid getting trampled by the masses of people exiting the theater despite the fact that Ryou was slowing him down in his confusion.

        "But what about…."

        "He'll be fine!"

        "Demo…."

        "Look! There are the others!"

        Ryou couldn't help but whimper as Honda practically carried him to the others. He knew for a fact that he didn't want to be anywhere near this place when Ryuuji found out exactly what had happened.

        And of course, the raven-haired man _was_ going to find out eventually what had happened.

~ * ~

        When Seto watched movies, he often left earlier than everyone else in order to avoid the stampede. Ryuuji, on the other hand, liked to stay behind and watch the ending credits. After all, most people were already gone by that point except for the few people who also stayed behind, and then there wasn't much need to worry about getting accidentally killed.

        Honda, having gone to quite a few movies with Ryuuji, knew of this little eccentricity. This was the reason why he had forced Ryou out of the theater as quickly as he could, knowing that Ryuuji wouldn't notice, too wrapped up in watching the credits roll across the screen. To be truthful, he could never figure out why Ryuuji liked watching it… he personally found it rather boring. But there was something about it that held the game inventor in rapt attention, and he often refused to budge until it truly was over.

        Seto, on the other hand, found himself staring at Ryuuji with a bored expression on his face. His 'companion', if one was brave enough to call it that, had ignored him for the duration of the movie… which had been relatively good. He had, of course, expected that type of behavior… but still.

        And now, Ryuuji seemed to be absolutely fascinated by the names. There were so many, and each of them were different and unique. Seto raised one eyebrow as he continued to watch the older man.

        Ryuuji was… Ryuuji was _odd_, to say the least. He had to be, of course, to stand out in Seto's mind beyond a nameless cheerleader friend. But there were just so many things that reminded him of himself… so many characteristics that he could see in himself if he was being truthful. A rare event, most certainly, but with Ryuuji he found he was looking into himself a little more.

        Most of it… most of it he didn't like. There was a reason why all of those annoying traits had been hidden away, but now?

        It wasn't really a good thing, was it?

        He felt challenged when he was in Ryuuji's presence. There was enough competition to make a conversation interesting, and enough skill on both of their parts to make it difficult for either to win. With Yami no Yuugi… well, it just got boring after a while. The pharaoh _was_ the game king, after all, and simply could not be defeated. The concept of never being able to win unless something particularly catastrophic should happen made the game so much less interesting.

        With Ryuuji, he didn't have that feelings. The win-lose ratio was just enough so that he could stay interested. If he always won, like with the make inu… well, what was the point of that? There was no challenge, no competition to spark that fire within him which had for so long caused him to pursue Yami no Yuugi in that desperate, hopeful chance that perhaps _this_ would be the day where the great game king would fall.

        Pff. As if.

        The pharaoh wasn't really human, wasn't a challenge that he could conceivably hope to defeat one day. He was, instead, a fitful dream that was too high for him to reach, no matter how hard he tried. It made him feel so weak, so awkward and pathetic. Ryuuji, at least, did not inspire those types of emotions.

        Instead, he could almost believe that he was having fun bantering with the raven-haired, cocky-ass game inventor.

        It was more than what he could say about his current relationship.

        This was a paradox that he had long ago ceased to understand. Yuriko created a perfect relationship in which he could give little… but then he would receive just as little back. And Ryuuji… he had to give so much of himself, of that person who had so wanted to be hidden away for the rest of eternity, just to understand the person standing before him. But in doing so, he felt so _alive_.

        But he didn't _want_ to give parts of himself away, even to feel alive.

        He didn't want….

        "What are you doing?"

        He found himself looking into those green eyes, narrowed and accusatory. If they were standing, Seto had a feeling that Ryuuji would have his hands on his hips. And if they were younger, he was even more sure that Ryuuji would be sticking his tongue out at him. In fact, even though they were currently at an age where they were supposed to be better than that, Seto couldn't help but be somewhat surprised that Ryuuji wasn't doing it still.

        "Is there some problem?" his voice was remarkably cold, and he was mildly surprised that he was able to keep his voice so calm.

        "You're staring at me."

        He snorted, "I'm not that desperate, Ryuuji."

        The shorter man's lips immediately tightened as he turned away, standing up in the process and starting to scan the theater for the people he had come with. It shouldn't have been that difficult of a task, as the theater was mostly empty and a vast majority of his friends did happen to stand out rather spectacularly from others… but there was a teeny tiny factor of how none of them were there in the first place, thus rendering all of his observation skills useless.

        He shrieked.

        "Where's everyone else?!"

        Even as he asked these words, Ryuuji had a sinking suspicion that he knew the answer to that question… and he immediately made a resolution to himself that each of them would suffer a very slow and painful death as soon as he was able to hunt all of them down.

        "It seems that they left," Seto replied, the voice of everlasting reason. Except… Kaiba Seto _wasn't_ supposed to be the damn voice of reason because every time he was involved in something, it just made everything a lot worse.

        "I can see that!" Ryuuji screamed back immediately. It was a good thing that there was nobody else in the movie theater or they would have been receiving a lot of stares. Seto looked like he was ready to make some type of comment about Ryuuji's complete and utter lack of control when it came to exercising his vocal cords, but something on Ryuuji's face must have made him stop because he didn't say anything.

        Not to imply that Seto was gaining a conscience, of course.

        "They're probably waiting for you outside."

        There was a pause as Ryuuji blinked before looking back up at Seto in an expression of vague confusion. Seto managed to keep his expression neutral even though he began to feel a bit of confusion himself at Ryuuji's expression, but perhaps he might have acted differently if he had known what Ryuuji was thinking.

        As the raven-haired game inventor looked at the CEO, one eyebrow slightly raised in his observation, he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with Seto. Obviously, there had to be something wrong to explain this strange behavior, right? Seto wasn't exactly the type of person to say such words, which were oddly comforting in their own right. Or perhaps not really comforting, but offering an alternative that made valid sense.

        "Maybe."

        He knew better, of course. But he didn't see the point of saying it out loud and risk utter humiliation if he should randomly be proved wrong. But that didn't change the fact that he knew what had happened.

        The others had ditched him, most likely for the same reasons that Honda and Malik had been trying to drop on him in the past couple of weeks. He didn't know why they were so obsessive with finding him a significant other… and _why_ that person had to be Seto, who was already dating somebody else and was a total ass and prick to boot.

        After all, what did it matter that Seto was the first person in a long time that had made him feel like somebody else… well, understood him.

        Not that he really _wanted_ Seto to understand him. He had always prided himself in remaining one level above everyone else… but he didn't get that feeling with Seto. Instead, he felt… normal. Like everything that had hidden his true self away was stripped off and that the brunette was the only person who could see past those layers which he had created to survive.

        Yuugi-tachi… they had started to get past those barriers, Honda especially. But with Seto, it was so different. It wasn't a long process but an immediate one that caught him completely off-guard. It was… something… something that could very easily be mistaken for….

        Seto snorted, gladly interrupting his disjointed thought process. "Let's get out of here before your idiot friends think I've kidnapped you."

~ * ~

        When the two emerged from the dark theater, Ryuuji paused and stood there for a moment with a petrified expression on his face as he debated between screaming or crying. Unable to decide which of the two he wanted to do more, he settled for banging his head repeatedly against the wall in frustration while mentally cursing them all to a thousand extremely painful deaths.

        He happened to be very creative when he wanted to be, so he was still figuring out the details on death number twenty-three when Seto ever so calmly took him by the wrist and led him away from the wall before he could anymore permanent damage to himself.

        If he wasn't so busy making graphic plans of death, he would have taken the time to worry about why Seto actually cared enough to help him. But instead of asking the question that he should have asked, the only thing he could say was, "I'm going to kill them."

        "You shouldn't announce your plans then."

        Ryuuji glared. And he probably would have started to snarl and drool as all rabid people tend to do if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't want to be sent to the mental institute just yet. After all, he had some murders to commit before he could start frothing and thus get out of taking credit to the mass murders by reason of insanity.

        "You're not being very helpful."

        "Is there some reason for me to be? I'm not being paid to help you out."

        Seto was smirking as he said this, and for a moment he could only stand there staring at that awful expression. He wanted nothing more than to lash out, to scream… but because he couldn't, he decided to turn and walk away.

        He hadn't, however, counted on the fact that Seto was not quite yet prepared to let go of his wrist, resulting him nearly falling over when he found himself being held back. Immediately feeling annoyed, he turned back to glare at Seto with an emotion in his eyes that seemed to be borderline hatred.

        But what was it borderline _with_?

        "What the hell do you want this time?" As he spoke these words, he decided to keep his eyes on the wall in front of him rather than even bothering to address Seto to his face. He just felt so… tired. He didn't want to deal with Seto anymore, didn't want to deal with this annoying confusion which made him see the brunette in a way that he honestly did not want to see him.

        Seto looked completely unfazed by the inquiry as he replied with a question of his own, as if deliberately wanting to piss off the shorter man, "Do you plan on walking home again?"

        "Why do you care?"

        "I think we both know where that landed you last time, hmm?"

        Ryuuji flushed as he quickly realized that Seto knew everything that had happened the first time he had tried to walk home on his own… the morning he had woken up in a bed which was so _painfully_ not his own. "And I think that I don't need a reminder of that, so could you please drop it?"

        Seto shrugged, a horribly self-pleased expression that made Ryuuji want to scream. "Well, I'm just saying that you're not quite _fit_ to walk home on your own. You seem to get into a lot more trouble than most normal people, you do realize."

        "That is _none_ of your business. So let go."

        "And how is it going to look in the papers when you're found in an alley because you were killed in the process of a mugging and the press finds out that I was the last person you with, hmm? Since you're obviously incapable of walking to your apartment on your own, too poor to hire a taxi, and currently deprived of all other forms of transportation… well, I'm not going to be the one held accountable for your obvious stupidity."

        Ryuuji turned to stare at the CEO before demanding, "_Why_ do you have to do that?"

        Silence as Seto looked at him with a completely neutral expression that made him want to scream and slam _Seto's _head against the wall.

        "How many times do I have to tell you, Ryuuji? I'm not psychic, and it's kind of hard to figure out what you're trying to say when you seem to take pleasure out of being so vague."

        As Ryuuji had not been able to escape from the situation, it was of no particular surprise to any of the people there except Seto when the raven-haired game inventor started to rant in a way that seemed to say he had been bottling it up within for quite a long time.

        "_Why_ do you have to be so… so… _god_, I don't even know how to explain it! It's as if you have to put everyone else down to make yourself feel better, like your self esteem is really so bad that it's the only way to make yourself feel better. I know you get some kick out of doing this, but honestly… it's like you can't _last_ for two minutes without having to let out a half-ass remark! There _has_ to be some reason for this beyond being fun, but I have no idea what the hell it could be!" Ryuuji was barely coherent by this point, and he might have been surprised that Seto looked like he understood if it wasn't for the fact that he didn't exactly care anymore as he continued his tirade. "Why can't you, just for once, let people be who they are without having to put them down for every move that they make? This isn't a game! There isn't anybody keeping points! For crying out…."

        Ryuuji probably could have gone on for a lot longer if Seto hadn't stopped him mid-word with a kiss.

        It was of no small wonder that Seto had managed to accomplish this without Ryuuji even noticing, but the older man had been quite a bit wrapped up in his rant that he hadn't noticed all the things around him. So he was, of course, completely caught off guard when Seto had simply lifted his face up slightly before shutting him up with the kiss.

        It hadn't been a small kiss, nor a particularly long one. But it _seemed_ to last a long time, for both of them, and neither knew quite what to think during the entire time.

        So both of them did the simplest thing by not thinking at all.

Commentary (*wails loudly at Ninetails-chan* I am _not_ the official commentary/note whore!):

[1] The other me. Mou means other, hitori means person, no is a possessive, and boku is a polite form of 'I' used by men. 'Ore', which is what Yami no Yuugi uses, is more rude.

[2] About $5.00.

[3] Hello?

[4] I don't buy cards, and the only two I have are Japanese and came with the manga. So I'm just guessing with this one. ^^;;

[5] Pegasus died in volume 15, so I'm assuming that somebody took over in the design of the cards. 

[6] *giggles* I bet some of you can figure out what that show is pretty easy…. ^.^ *runs off to glomp Sam Waterston and Chris Noth*

I don't have much to say, but I wanted to show exactly how much this chapter changed through the writing process. Down below is the original outline which I used when I had planned the story.

Chapter 7 ~ Kuchizuke (Kiss) – N. Sunday

  Yuugi-tachi – all out, including Kaiba à watch movie

     Seto and Ryuuji next to each other

     Walking out à Ryuuji shoved and Seto catches him (blush!)

     à sprained ankle

     Honda – notices ~ makes excuse about needing car so asks Seto to give Ryuuji a ride

         Much freaking out à get to Ryuuji's apartment

  Ryuuji – getting out with Seto's help

     Suddenly – kiss!

        Normally I wouldn't complain so much… but this chapter really seemed to have turned into something completely different. I don't think I've ever had a chapter change this much, so I thought it would be fun to mention it, and let everyone see how screwed up my outlines really are. :p

=(O.o)=

PM


	8. Ginofu

Painted Sky

        *bounces in*

        Chapter takes place on Thursday! Tis short! Have fun! Bye!

        *bounces out*

Many thanks to rayemars-san and the readers! (Maybe I need to think of a new way of saying this….)

Bronze Eagle ~ Oh, MST was a show? I never could figure it out… *feels stupid*. Ryou.. yeah. Clueless. Yuugi might not be as clueless now, but YnYuugi is probably too busy getting his brains screwed out to notice. ^~

Vulpes, Demon of fuzzy ears ~ It's not a cliffy! It's… it's… a… thing!

Landy Shriannan Santrea ~ oO Don't dieee. *wails* I don't want you to die! *bursts into tears and clings*

MarmaladeGirl ~ *wails* But it's not really a cliffhanger… they just… kissed! Which I'm sure they did when they had sex…. *gets hit by one of Ryuuji's shoes and falls over* And to answer your question, there's… 15 chapters in this story? I'm pretty sure it's 15 at least… I'll check the outline later and tell you if it's different later. ^~

Alana Hikari-Chan ~ This version is better, huh… although I was going to have Seto carry Ryuuji around in the original, bridal-style even~! XD Nice try, eh?

Tuulikki ~ Aww… ramble on~! I like reading it! XD And I need to review your story… gah~! *bangs head against desk* I will do it! PROMISE!

kkkkkkkkkkk ~ Ugh, I know what you mean… I can't say that I'm extraordinarily fond of Anzu, but she's a pretty cool character. One of my favorite Noah arc episodes is the second part of her duel with Big 5… although maybe it's just because there's so much Yuugi/Anzu and the drawings were very pretty. Plus the background music was gorgeous… but I have a feeling that it got killed in the dub. ;-;

Rown and Sakura ~ *giggles* We'd miss you! That's why we need you! *glomps*

Mercedes no Inuarai ~ *yelps and quickly revives* You want more because it works! *nods hyperly and keeps on brainwashing* ^.^

Anime Girl Sasami ~ No, not as long, but still as good as ever. ^~ I'm glad your opinion on Anzu has changed! She can be pretty annoying at times, but I think she's more interesting than Honda personally. ^^;; She's not as great as Mai, of course, but I don't get to deal with Mai as much and Anzu is great in the manga (it's the anime that sometimes messes her up… and the dub… *grumbles*). As for the childishness of the entire thing… ugh, I had a reply all thought out before! One that actually made sense! *bangs head against desk* I'll think of it, I will… uh… *frowns* Damn, I really don't remember. *withers up and dies* IM me sometime and I'll try to puzzle it out then! XD But yes… it's about time their relationship gets moving! Although when I wrote the scene, I spent the entire time worrying that it was too fast! X.x And I guess I like this version better too… otherwise it would have been rewritten! *laughs* Anyhow, don't worry about taking your time… you were sick! You're not obligated to review (although it's great fun to read and devour…). ;p I feel honored that you do. ^-^

Ninetails-chan ~ Neh, you're a strange person. *ducks* XD I hope you got my e-mail and the crappy large attachment. *hisses* Anyhow… the boyfriend… he might show up but I doubt it, and if you're really interested… I'll have to go find him a name! Now you know how much I planned his existence, eh? Never fear… I'm sure I'll find him some name! As for the movie… no idea what it is. The reason is because since this story technically takes place in the future, I have no idea what kind of movie they'll be watching! Life of Legolas… teehee! If it has Orlando Bloom in it, I'll watch *that*. XD

~ Ginofu (Question Mark) ~

        If Otogi Ryuuji's life was a movie – and very luckily it wasn't, or there would be more than one person traumatized [1] – this would have been the point when he slapped the bejeezers out of Kaiba Seto and made a run for it. Or, if it was going to be the better case scenario, he would have attached himself more securely to the billionaire and made a show of the kiss.

        But since his life wasn't a movie, and movies rarely seemed to imitate reality, what ended up happening was that Ryuuji had, once he had gotten his mind to function properly, wrenched himself away from the brunette with an almost inaudible gasp. And after a moment of staring at each other, both with the exact same expression that seemed to be waiting for a small alien to pop out of the other's stomach… Ryuuji had turned and walked out.

        If it had been a movie, he might have run. If it had been a movie, Seto might have tried to catch up with him.

        Instead, Ryuuji walked outside of the theater, flagged down a cab, and paid the cab driver a great deal of money to get him out of the immediate vicinity at record speeds. So it was of no particular wonder that if Seto had cooperated with the part he was supposed to play, he would have found himself walking outside just when the cab was leaving.

        At this point, it would rain, and the hero would be soaked.

        As usual though, Seto just stood there watching Ryuuji walk away. He watched through the glass doors as the raven-haired man flagged down a cab and got in, and didn't even blink as the squeal of tires made itself known to everyone in a two-kilometer radius.

        It wasn't until then that he finally started walking towards the exit with a sure, slow pace that seemed to say very clearly, "I am Kaiba Seto and I do not care."

        Which was a lie, of course, but there wasn't anybody there to tell him otherwise.

        For both of them, the drive back to their respective home had been silent and a time for introspection. Most of the introspection seemed to revolve around the immediate fact that he had been kissed by his respective enemy-slash-secret-crush… as long as one ignored the fact that neither thought of the other as being at all attractive or worth thinking of as a crush. No, no. They couldn't have that happening.

        Upon getting back to the mansion, Seto had made his way to his office and simply started to work on the stack of folders and papers that had mysteriously grown in the past four hours. If one had looked at him at that moment, they never would have guessed what he had just done. And if one had been suicidal enough to ask him what he was thinking about and lucky enough to get a real reply, they still never would have guessed what he had just done.

        Ryuuji, on the other hand, had not been as lucky as Seto in gaining the ability to brush off everything that had just happened and move on with life. To say that Ryuuji was… upset with what had just happened was somewhat comparable with calling Yami no Malik a psychopath. He wasn't just a psychopath, you see… he was _the_ psychopath [2]. He took psychotic tendencies to the extreme, just as Ryuuji took the PMS-y ravings to a level that could only be compared to the time that Yami no Bakura had gotten extremely and unreasonably drunk and begun referring to Yami no Yuugi as 'his bitch'. Which was something he did all the time… just not in point blank range of Yami no Yuugi's hearing. Needless to say, a certain pharaoh was less than pleased with the pet name, and a certain thief found himself sleeping at a certain host's apartment for two weeks (much to the annoyance of said host) until a sufficient apology was made.

        The person who was to take the brunt of this anger was, of course, Honda Hiroto. Not only was he the closest person and thus the easiest to lash out to… but he was also the person who was most likely to have initiated this mess. The others might have thought of doing something like that, but none of them would have actually done it. Honda was the only person who would have the bravery (or audacity, depending on your point of view) to do this, and both he and Ryuuji knew it.

        Honda, despite having been screamed at, threatened, and nearly killed more than once by unidentified flying objects, couldn't help but be rather pleased by the newest development. Kissing was, after all, a very nice step forward to getting the two to admit their interest in each other, no matter how adamantly each denied the attraction…

        … which was perhaps why he more or less went off the deep end when he found out Ryuuji was leaving just as things were starting to get interesting.

~ * ~

        To say that Honda was surprised when he walked by Ryuuji's door (which was open, a first since that Sunday evening) was to be expressing a bit of an understatement. When Ryuuji got mad, he _really_ got mad. In fact, the last time Ryuuji had become this angry, the two had not spoken for three weeks, despite the fact that they still ate together and occupied the same living space. But Ryuuji was as stubborn as they come, and just when it was looking like the brunette was in for a rough three weeks, he found himself standing outside of Ryuuji's room with his eyeballs nearly falling out of their sockets.

        As if Ryuuji had noticed the fact that there was somebody gawking at him (it might have been the small choking sounds that gave Honda away, as Ryuuji certainly hadn't seen him unless he had miraculously grown eyes in the back of his head), he paused in his packing and put his hands on his hips, "Is something the matter, Honda?"

        "What… what are you _doing_?!" Honda yelled with such high pitch that he might have been mistaken for Ryuuji if the game inventor hadn't been the one standing there with him. "Where… where… what…?"

        "Yes?"

        As he had spoken the short, rather spiteful question, Ryuuji finally turned around to glare at Honda. It was the first time Honda had seen him since the screaming bout when Ryuuji had gotten home from the movies, and the raven-haired man did not look like he was in very good shape. His usual meticulously kept hair was now let down, and his emerald green eyes looked tired, annoyed, and murderous all at the same time.

        "Are… are you going somewhere?"

        "What does it look like, hmm?"

        "… but…."

        "But what?" his voice was dry and completely emotionless. Honda knew instinctively that he was going to have to tread _very_ lightly or risk having dice shoved down is throat.

        "Isn't this a little sudden though?" Honda finally managed to squeak out.

        "No."

        "You're just… you're just going to run away now? Of all times?!"

        Honda immediately winced as the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself, and quickly braced himself for something being thrown at his face.

        Several seconds passed with nothing happening, and finally Honda dared to crack open one of his eyes to peer at Ryuuji tentatively. The shorter man was standing there, not moving, head slightly tilted upwards as he stared in some type of abject fascination at something that simply wasn't there.

        "Is there some reason why I need to be here?"

        "Yes!"

        "And that would be…?"

        Honda's mouth opened and closed without anything ever coming out, and the silence stretched on as Ryuuji stared at him coolly. It was times like these that really made Honda wish that Ryuuji could just lose control again… the cold, silent glare was much more disturbing than an over-the-top hissy fit. No, this was really something that he did not want to deal with… something that he did not want to face.

        Upon satisfying himself that the brunette wouldn't be saying anything for the present moment, Ryuuji returned to folding the shirt that he had been holding ever since Honda had come in and interrupted him. And although his face remained neutral, his thoughts were a completely different story. Honda's questions had been expected, of course, and he had convinced himself reasonably well that he was capable of answering them. Now though, he seemed to be having different thoughts.

        When one of his employees working in California had called asking him if he was able to come over to help figure out some of the problems that the America-based portion of his company were having, he had immediately jumped for the opportunity. Both he and Honda knew that he got these types of calls frequently, and usually the problems were greatly exaggerated and not worth the effort. 

        But this time… well, this time the circumstances were a little different. Not for them, as he had a feeling that the problems were going to be petty again. Hell, he had a good memory when it came to these types of things, and he more than remembered what had happened the last time he had gotten that phone call and gone tearing off to America in a panic.

        Only to discover that the problem was something a six year old could solve.

        Ryuuji never could figure out why intelligence seemed to just stop once one reached a high level in a company. He just… couldn't.

        So, even with the knowledge that if he did go, the only thing he would probably be doing was learning again exactly how inadequate his English was in a large fancy hotel where people would stare at him not because of the way he dressed and acted but because they were probably trying to figure out the best way to rip off the foreigner… he accepted. And now he was packing as his secretary arranged the plane tickets for a flight out the next day.

        A part of him whined that if he really was that desperate to escape Domino right now, he should have gone some place that didn't require a fourteen hour plane trip to hell and back. He could… go to Tokyo or Hokkaido or something. Or if he wanted to get out of the country, perhaps China – mmm, Chinese food [3] – or even Australia.

        But instead… America?

        This had to be a sign that he was losing it. If not for the tiny, minuscule detail that he had lost his mind a long time ago and that it was too late to be losing something which had dropped out of sight already.

        "So this is it, huh?"

        He raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, although he did have the courtesy to stop his packing to look at Honda with an almost skeptical look.

        "You're… you're just _leaving_… and everything was going so great too… but… now… you're just running off to… where are you going again?"

        "L.A."

        "L.A. You're running off to Los Angeles without a warning, and… are you going to even…." Honda's voice drifted off as his mind finally kicked back in. He knew instinctively that what he was about to say… well, he really didn't want to say it. Not if he wanted to keep his internal organs intact, at least.

        "Yep."

        "Glad you're so cheery about it," Honda grumbled as he walked into the room and sank into the chair at the desk, giving Ryuuji a critical look. "But… you know, it is kind of sudden."

        "So? The business in Japan is running smoothly, and it's not like there's anything urgent happening here that makes it necessary for me to stay right now."

        Honda supposed he could have tried to be sappy at that moment and give some long soliloquy about how much Ryuuji was needed _here_… but then he realized that nobody's patience could last that long and he _would_ be having something thrown at his face should he dare to make such remarks.

        So he settled for something that was half grudging, half sympathetic, and completely, one hundred percent demented.

        "Yeah… well, everyone's going to miss you, you know…."

        "Honda…."

        "I mean, even though you're really annoying and everything… but I guess we'll miss you eventually and-…"

        "Honda…."

        "You know, I can see you coming back from America two months from now and then you'll realize it was all a mistake and I'm just going to tell you 'I told you so'. You just watch…."

        "_Honda…._" Ryuuji practically yelled, although there was a smile on his face as he resisted the urge to just start laughing at what the brunette was saying.

        "But I can guarantee you right now that you're not going to be happy in America and that sooner or later, you'll be crawling right back here and everything's going to be different because it's not like I'm going to be able to keep this apartment if you're gone unless you plan on paying for rent from America which I doubt because you'll probably find some big house next to where that actor – what's his name? The one who became governor? Well, you'll probably end up living next to him and learning about politics and maybe you'll become the next governor and…."

        "Honda."

        "What?!" By this point, the brunette was starting to get a little red and his face darkened slightly when he saw the look of extreme amusement on Ryuuji's face.

        "I'm only going for a week."

        Silence.

        Silence.

        _Silence_.

        "Oh?"

        Ryuuji quietly snickered as he threw a sketch pad and a couple of books on top of his stuff before shutting the suitcase and turning to face Honda with an extremely insincere smile on his face, "But if you really want me to, I'm sure I can buy you some souvenirs from America… maybe a 'Gover-nator' t-shirt, since you're obviously so fascinated with it [4]."

        "Oh shut up."

~ * ~

        He had just typed the same line twelve times.

        Twelve times.

        He frowned as he looked at the screen with an almost curious expression that never was meant for Kaiba Seto's face, and started typing the same line for the thirteenth time because he didn't know what else to do. What else to do that was legal, at least, since sending out assassins to murder a certain green-eyed pain in the ass didn't exactly constitute as being on the right side of the law.

        Sighing as he pressed the erase button for the thirteenth time, he erased the line before writing it again. It just wasn't right, but every time he tried to vary it the sentence just ended up coming out even worse.

        Somebody really did have to go out and kill that… that… _idiot_. Never mind that he was the one who had initiated the kiss in the first place… nobody cared about that! But – his icy blue eyes narrowed as he rested his chin on his hand – had Ryuuji even responded to the kiss?

        The thought lingered before he suddenly shook his head, as if hoping to miraculously fling it out of his mind by way of a surreal reality. What on earth was a thought like that doing in his brain in the first place?! That wasn't something he wanted to be thinking about… that _really_ wasn't something he wanted to be thinking about. He wanted to move on, to get a life, to be able to concentrate on his work without being distracted by somebody he didn't care for.

        But… if he didn't care for him, why did he…?

        It was an accident. Just like that night. It was all an accident. A terrible, demented accident that he wished had never happened, but now that it had he could only brush it off and say that it wasn't supposed to have happened. Which it wasn't, of course, so why was he bothering to dwell on it?

        It was an accident.

        _It was an accident._

        That morning… when he had woken up to find himself staring at Ryuuji's face… had he always been attracted to those long locks of raven hair and thin, overly done face? Had he always found himself lingering a little too long, or was it all something that had come out of an accident that never should have happened?

        How could _so_ much spawn from a single, seemingly insignificant event?

        Just… how?

        Scowling as he shook his head and tried to dispel that thought, he grudgingly realized that the latest development in the roller coaster relationship between him and Ryuuji (a wince – was relationship really the only one that could be used to describe the two? It seemed a bit too… well… intimate) was forcing him to confront something that he really did not want to.

        It was starting to become more than one seemingly insignificant event – mainly due to the way he kept adding more insignificant events, which now built on top of each other to form something that was spinning out of his control. In fact, if he was to be completely truthful with himself, he would know by now that he had never had control… no, he had lost all semblance of that trait since the day he had opened his eyes and found himself looking at the thin, lithe face.

        And it was such a pretty face too.

        Oh. Okay. He did not just say that.

        A frown made its way onto his face. No matter what he thought, no matter how much he tried to contradict himself… well, he had said those words. Or at least he had thought them, and wasn't that the same thing? What was it called again – a Freudian slip?

        He snorted and brushed off the thought. Freud was an idiot [5] and that was that. It wasn't a slip or anything of the sort. It was just… an observation.

        … an observation.

        Who he was trying to kid?

        Leaning back, posture slightly slumped as he glared at the computer screen, he couldn't help but wonder about how any of this could have happened. How so much could have come out of him getting… drunk. He knew that he had to be punished, but wasn't this a bit to the extreme?

        But did he even want to call it punishment?

        The little voice that whispered such thoughts was immediately tied up and stuck in a closet to await execution. No, no, there was no doubt in his mind. _This_ was punishment. _This_ was a hell recreated on earth. _This_ was everything he had always tried to avoid in his life yet was now seemingly pursuing on his own accord.

        A pause before he decided to blame that on the little voice in his head as well.

        Everything… everything he had taken for granted seemed to be put into question now. His relationship with Yuriko, his relationship with people, his relationship with _himself_… why did all of these things change just because he was starting to get to know somebody else? It shouldn't have this much of an effect on him, should it? He shouldn't be changed to this extreme degree.

        It was just… there was something about Ryuuji. Something about the other man that made him act differently yet the same. It was as if the two parts of him – the one that he retained in everyday life and the one that he kept hidden away to avoid public humiliation – would become intertwined when he was around the raven-haired man. Everything about the game inventor made him want to scream in frustration and laugh at the same time, and the two contradicting emotions were starting to mix into something completely undesirable.

        This wasn't supposed to happen.

        Ever.

        _That_ was not a question. _That_ did not warrant further thought. _That_ did not….

        And yet all his convictions seemed to die away as soon as he thought about those emerald-green eyes staring at him. It didn't matter what was in those eyes; in the end, they always had the same devastating effect on his defenses.

        Ryuuji… he doubted Ryuuji knew what was happening. Which just made it so much worse. Why should he feel these emotions when the person doing this to him didn't even seem to notice? Ryuuji seemed to be too busy worrying about himself than to worry about what he was doing to a certain blue-eyed billionaire, and…

        … _and none of this made sense._

        Breathing out, he glared at the sentence which he had typed fourteen times, and he decided that it was time to figure out what the hell was going on. It was past time to end all the questions that were constantly threatening to destroy life as he knew it.

        He had to make the question marks go away.

        Nodding to himself almost absent-mindedly as his convictions settled in his mind, he straightened and began to type the same line for the fifteenth time that night.

Commentary:

[1] No arguing that Ryuuji is already in a movie because of his similarities to Jack Sparrow.__

[2] I suppose you could argue that Yami no Bakura would give him a fair run for his money (which I totally agree with), but as PAS explained, Yami no Malik just has the _look_ of a psychopath – especially with his little tongue tricks and tendency to grow all veiny. Besides, he wants to destroy the world. Yami no Bakura just wants to take it over and have a little bondage pharaoh pet (did I just say that out loud?). There _is_ a difference (don't ask me how, just pretend you believe me).

[3] According to the character guide, Ryuuji's favorite food is Chinese. =(^.^)=

[4] Whaa? I'm not quite sure exactly how many years into the future this is, but I know that I'm gonna be scarred for life by the recall. And I remember reading in the newspaper that a lot of people around the world, including Japan, were interested in the recall because Arnold was in it. *sweatdrop* Circus… I swear, this is just _not_ California's year.

[5] Yes. That's my belief. Freud's an idiot. What kind of six year old is going to want to kill his father to sleep with his mother? No, don't answer that. I don't want to know.

No (and especially you, Ninetails-chan!!). I do not have an inherent need to make Seto such an ass that all his boyfriends run away from him to America. And the reason why they run off to Los Angeles, California has nothing to do with the fact that I live there and will stalk them.

Oh hushy. *sticks tongue out*


	9. Biyouseikei

Painted Sky

      Short chapter ahead… I didn't think it would be short, but it just ended up this way. My brain has totally been on the fritz due to playing wayyyyy too many video games for long periods of time, and then I decided to cut out a scene in this chapter (useless outline I say… *hisses*). ^^;; But I hope you enjoy anyway… ;p

      So anyway, this chapter takes place on Monday (or something like that… there's some bouncing back and forth with the international date line, so it's probably more like this chapter takes place on Monday in Los Angeles but Tuesday in Domino. ^~), and it's the chapter that I've looked forward to writing since I made the outline for this story (not that it has helped when it comes to writing it….)! XD And yeah… the title of this chapter does have some relevance to the chapter itself… *innocent grin*.

And because my brain is non-functioning at the moment due to studying four chapters of physics in the early morning, I will show my great lack of creativity now! Thanks to rayemars-san for beta-reading and the readers! I'll be here all week! (Well, not really….)

MarmaladeGirl ~ Yes, dying is generally considered not to be very fun… well, I think it is? ^.^ I don't think it's fun at least. That's why I can't watch violent stuff. Except lately I only watch murder shows… Law & Order and Monk. And Detective Conan because my mom doesn't like watching Yu-gi-oh during commercial breaks. ;p

Tuulikki ~ Wah, I'm lucky that you review all my chapters. *hearts* Heehee, that would be an interesting story… *cackle* You know, I've been suffering from the oddest case of writer's block and seeing that little storyline is perking my inter… *gets cut off by more unidentified flying objects, although they are oddly cubed shape or similar to pieces of paper that look like those papers people get when they're about to be sued*. 

Alana Hikari-Chan ~ What? There are serious chapters here? XD Sorry, sorry… this is actually supposed to be a somewhat humorous story. You don't want to see my serious stories… *shivers and whimpers*. They scare even me! Mostly because they refuse to be written and try to bite my fingers off when I attempt to type them up, but… yes! They're scary! As for Freud, look up his psychosexual stage theory. It's disturbing.

Bronze Eagle ~ "Finding Nemo" was a good movie though (and I'm not saying that just because we bought it for $13.99!!)! ;p I love the seagulls part… Mine? Mine? Mine? Mine? *giggles* Wow, I didn't know there was a fourth Myst game. I thought it was still at two… oO;; Now we all know how intelligent PM is! XD Yuugi-hair… *shiver* verrrrry scary.

Cleoaka insaner than Marik one ~ Oh yes, review! You see, I have a bet with a friend that nobody will review this story so for every review I get, I get a dollar! XD Just kidding! Thanks for the article! Sorry my reply was totally incoherent…. It's my belief that APs can do that to a person… *hisses*.

Lady Shriannan Santrea ~ Seto? Resolve something? *stares at Seto* Have you been feverish again? *Seto throws a pen at PM, nearly hitting her in the eyeball except it glanced off her glasses* P Sorry, sorry… brain is gone. So many excuses I have. But yeah, Honda did jump to conclusions a bit too quickly. It was rather amusing to write that part, actually… I'm glad I did it because the chapter was on the verge of suicide when I came up with that life-saver.

Blackmoonlight ~ ^.^ I'm glad you like the story! Yes, I'm trying to brainwash everyone out of Seto and Jyounouchi coupling *shifty eyes*. I've got one victim so far! *is so proud of self* 

Anime Girl Sasami ~ P If this was a movie, Seto wouldn't have to go after his new boy-toy because said boy-toy would be *in* his bed and the two would be- *gets knocked out*. And I don't torment the reviewers! I seem to torment myself more than anyone else… *eyes the man-eating stories that are clicking their teeth at her and whimpers very loudly* I don't like Hanasaki, by the way. He disturbs me… I'm sorry, but any kid who runs around thinking he's a superhero is just… no. And how does he see without his glasses? That was something that always annoyed me. But as for Honda… *coughs and says very quickly* pervertedmonkeyrobot! ^.^ I really, really hope you get your computer back soon… and the holy DVDs! *chorus in the background* ^____^

Rowan and Sakura ~ Oh, gomen… I won't glomp anymore then. ^^;; I'll just send Yuki after you. That's a good plan, right? Anyhow, the character profiles come in a book called "The Gospel of Truth"… it's quite disturbing if you ask me. I found it at the bookstore one day and just picked it up because I had no idea what it was beyond 'character profiles'. I'm sure it's quite interesting if you could read Japanese – which I can't – but it has a lot of information on the birthdays, favorite foods, least favorite foods, etc on certain characters. ^_^ And yes! Tis 2004! ^.~ Hope you've been having a great year so far!

kkkkkkkkkkkkkkk ~ No, no, there's going to be no chasing after or anything. Rather… well, you'll see in this chapter anyway! ^_^ And throw popcorn back at your friends! They must not deny the… the… similarities (cough-sameperson!-cough) between Ryuuji and Jack Sparrow! I'm telling you… they're related! Somehow! Or meant for each other. Or related! Or something! XD

~ Biyouseikei (Plastic Surgery) ~

        American bartenders were so much meaner than Japanese ones.

        This brilliant flash of insight came, unfortunately, from the grand total of two bartenders (three if you wanted to include the poor girl who had been perfectly traumatized by the rather ghastly display of 'affection' he'd had with Seto when the two of them were in their less than correct senses) that Ryuuji had met up to this point, so it wasn't exactly a good indication of anything and certainly not something to draw conclusions from. Unfortunately, Ryuuji was currently piss-ass drunk (_again_), and his mind was in a less than agreeable mood when it came to being realistic.

        Ryuuji had, however, quite a bit to get drunk about. Not that this was an excuse, of course, but one had to be open to the reasons why somebody would ever want to reach this point.

        There was, first of all, the plane trip itself. Plane trips were generally not fun for the raven-haired man, even when he was in first class, and he had spent most of the trip getting cooed over by the flight attendants who felt sorry for the poor guy getting airsick. The person next to him had been less than accommodating, and had complained loudly when Ryuuji had nearly thrown up on him, even though it would have been an accident.

        Although considering how loudly he had been whining, Ryuuji couldn't be _that_ sure.

        So it was reasonable that Ryuuji would be less than pleased by the time he got off the airplane, only to be mobbed by a group of enthusiastic subordinates who reminded him strangely of the fangirls who had trailed him in his first couple weeks at Domino High. Their attempts to express all their problems at the same time only brought back the urge to throw up and made his headache even worse, and it had taken him a great deal of effort to explain to them in broken English that if he didn't lie down on a bed that was on _solid ground_ within the next twenty minutes, they were all going to get fired. For some reason, they had become amazingly cooperative after that vague little threat.

        A good night's sleep was all that was necessary for him to recover sufficiently enough to leave the hotel and venture into the great wild more commonly known as Los Angeles… or at least, that's what he would have done if he hadn't discovered a car waiting to whisk him away to the company. He was, unfortunately, recognized when he tried to slip away as an innocent tourist, and found himself sulking in the backseat as he was driven to the headquarters of his American-based section.

        Once there, he realized that his cynical remarks about the idiocy of the problems were correct, and he spent the rest of the day trying not to bang his head against the wall. Part of him wished he could jump onto the airplane and hightail it out of there (his stomach immediately rebelled at such thoughts though), and the rest of him wondered why he was submitting himself to this torture in the first place. Had he suddenly grown masochistic?

        But then he would remember the kiss, and more importantly, the look of Seto's face. The look of extreme… blankness. The look that drove him insane without fail. And suddenly, he would be glad he was in America… until the next idiot came running up to him, starting the whole process over again. 

        It was not, in short, a very pleasant way to spend a Saturday.

        Sunday, as it turned out, was not any better. Eager to get their CEO's opinion on the most minuscule of details, the men hounded him until he was wondering if he should pull a miraculous escape… like jumping out the window and falling forty stories to his death. That would, at least, solve all his problems – including the baffling predicament with Kaiba Seto. But he couldn't do it because he did somewhat enjoy living, so he instead decided to fully realize the virtues of smiling and nodding without bothering to comprehend what was being said to him.

        He probably could have smiled and nodded his way into bankruptcy or declaring nuclear war on the penguins in Antarctica, and he wouldn't have noticed the difference.

        So, all in all, it was reasonable that he should have gotten to be in his… drunk state again. A tiny part of his brain had protested slightly when he had started drinking, pointing out what had happened the _last_ time… but he wanted to forget and this seemed to be the best way to accomplish that.

        Short-term, at least.

        That was how, in conclusion, Ryuuji ended up being quite… friendly with the hotel bartender, who could not understand much of what the other man was saying due to his ability to somehow mix Japanese, English, and a whole lot of incoherency. He was relatively surprised that Ryuuji was there in the first place – when people wanted to get drunk, they usually came at night, not eight in the morning. But the game inventor was an oddball, to say the least, and he liked to do things out of whack.

        Still, one look at him after his second drink was more than enough incentive for the bartender to call someone over to take him back to his hotel room… a courtesy that was not often used but seemed oddly necessary for the strange foreigner. The strange _rich_ foreigner, it had to be said, in order to emphasize the fact that nobody wanted to be sued.

        Ryuuji, unfortunately, was not as understanding about why he was suddenly being dragged back to his hotel room, and the strangest thoughts were starting to crowd into his already crowded mind. So in a fit of appropriate indignation, he picked up the phone and called the first person he could think of to bitch to.

~ * ~

        It was one in the morning, and the phone was ringing.

        Now normally, this wouldn't be much of a problem. Although most human beings needed a decent amount of sleep each night in order to function properly the next day, Seto was not one of those people who fell into the category of 'normal'. His policy seemed to revolve largely around late to bed and early to rise… something that caused a great deal of grief for all his servants.

        Not that he cared, of course.

        Today though… today, he _had_ been snoozing when the phone had started to screech, and so it was reasonable that he should not be very happy about the interruption of his beauty sleep.

        So with more than a little chagrin, Seto reached over grumpily and grabbed the phone, clicking it on and growling, "What?" Being called at one in the morning, after all, more or less meant that one could do away with any of the usual pleasantries… and Seto was very determined to be as rude as he possibly could.

        "I'm thinking about getting plastic surgery."

        Seto blinked.

        And blinked.

        And blinked again as he tried to process this announcement. And finally, with a voice that could easily be deemed as high-pitched, he asked incredulously, "Ryuuji?"

        "Don't you think my nose could use some work?"

        Perhaps it was because it was too early in the morning, or the fact that the unexpected announcement was just so… well, _unexpected_… but something in Seto's mind started to panic instead of searching for something nasty to say, although he had no idea why it would do something as idiotic as that. So he settled for acting in-between the odd and usual reaction by twitching and asking slowly, "Why would you think something like that?"

        The little voice in his head was telling him that this was the point he threatened to sue Ryuuji to kingdom come and beyond. This should have been the point when he gave some snappish remark and hung up. This _should_ have been the point where he acted like a total bastard who wanted nothing more to do with this childish, dice-obsessed game inventor – because that was what he _was_.

        Instead, he found himself pushing that little voice aside as he sat up, rubbing at his eyes to get rid of the drowsiness that was happily attacking them.

        "Well, don't you think there's something wrong with my nose?" Ryuuji's voice was more than a little odd by this point, and Seto's eyebrow rose.

        "Are you drunk?"

        "Why would you think something like that?! And you're not answering the question! This could be a matter of life and death, and you're asking me if I'm drunk? Ha! I think you've avoiding the question! Which obviously means that the answer to the question is that I do need work! I don't even know why I'm asking you the question! You obviously don't want to answer the question! Are you scared of – ".

        Rather than have to deal with another repetition of 'the question', Seto interrupted the small rant smoothly, "I'm asking because normal people don't usually call others at this time."

        "Well _excuse_ me for interrupting your beauty sleep. Since you're the one who likes to get up early, I thought you'd be awake by now." There was a silence as Ryuuji did something… probably check a clock in order to figure out that he was hallucinating again. "It's eight-thirty! Why are you still in bed, you freaky psychopath?"

        Seto couldn't help but twitch again, although he wasn't quite sure which was more worrisome – the complete irregularity in time or the childish insult.

        Freaky… psychopath?

        If he hadn't been a composed billionaire, Seto would have started banging his head systematically against the wall. And if he wasn't such a heartless asshole, he would have started to laugh despite the fact that it was much too early to be doing such things. The conversation was… amusing, to say the least, and perhaps that is why he had yet to hang up the phone.

        "It's one in the morning, Ryuuji."

        "No it's not. And you're still avoiding the – "

        "It's _one in the morning_, Ryuuji," Seto hissed. He wondered why Ryuuji's inability to tell time was more infuriating than the fact that he was calling at such an odd hour, but he decided to ignore that.

        "No it's not," Ryuuji replied stubbornly. His words were more than a little slurred.

        "Ask Honda if you don't believe me… god knows why, but you listen to him."

        "Honda's not here. He's still in Japan!" Ryuuji tittered, causing Seto to stare at the phone in shock as the raven-haired man continued on blithely. "He thought I was going to American forever! Isn't that funny? He got so mad at me when I told him that it was only for a week… honestly, I don't know why he was so worried. Why would I live in America for so long? My English isn't even that good!"

        Considering the way Ryuuji had said the last sentence in a mix of English and Japanese – two languages that Seto understood perfectly but now had trouble distinguishing due to Ryuuji's apparent inability to speak clearly – Seto didn't have a very difficult time believing _that_.

        "You're in America?"

        "Yes! And the bartenders here are _so_ mean. I only had two drinks! But I heard the plastic surgery is cheap! Everyone does it! Hee!"

        That was something that he _never_ wanted to hear again. _Never_. He did, however, wonder how it was that Ryuuji could have gotten to acting like this. Only two drinks had gotten him this bad? Hrm. It was probably a good thing that he had gotten thrown out of the bar or the idiot probably would have found himself in somebody else's bed again.

        Not that he… cared, of course.

        "So my nose… what do you think, Seto? Do you think I should get some work on it?"

        He was so caught up in the questions being thrown at him left and right that he barely noticed the fact that Ryuuji had just used his first name.

        "Your nose is fine, Ryuuji." Seto wondered exactly how many drinks Ryuuji must have had to end up in this state. He knew that the other man was quite prideful and more than a little arrogant when it came to his looks – almost to the point when he could have been the next Narcissus. And now, to be suddenly asked all these inane little questions about… stuff… well, it was odd, to say the least. "There is nothing wrong with your nose, and you do not need work on it."

        He made sure to use small words and to speak them slowly, so Ryuuji had no way of misinterpreting them.

        There was a silence following his statement before Ryuuji asked, "My face?"

        _He has a very pretty face… remember?_ a sadistic voice reminded him. He wondered if it was possible to sue himself… hard to tell these days, really.

        Finally, telling himself that if Ryuuji really was as drunk as he thought he was – therefore, the idiot wouldn't remember anything he was about to say – he decided to take a chance and say what was somewhat on his mind.

        "If you want my opinion, then I think you should stop worrying about the way you look and focus on the complete lack of sense you have. You obviously cannot hold alcohol very well yet you are suddenly calling me up at one-thirty in the morning to complain about the way you look. I should hold you accountable but I will be lenient because you are friends with Yuugi, and that automatically brings down the number of brain cells you have by half. The make inu cuts the remainder down by a fourth, and need I remind you that you didn't have that many to begin with in the first place. Your face is perfectly fine, and there is nothing wrong with it. My suggestion is that you stop worrying about it and get acquainted with your bed so you can sleep off this mess that you drunk yourself into."

        Silence.

        He smirked and was about to hang up the phone when a voice asked almost timidly, "So is that a no?"

        _Silence._

        His mouth opened – most likely to scream and curse – when he was interrupted.

        "I just want to make sure you're not just saying that."

        There was something about that question… _something_ that he knew was there but just couldn't pick up. His mind was bellowing at him to hang up before anymore damage could be made… begging for him to put the phone down before everything he stood for was _ruined_… and instead, he found himself staring straight ahead at the wall as he ignored all the warnings that were being flung into his face like bricks.

        "Would I do a thing like that?" he replied simply, letting that rhetorical question say it all. Would Kaiba Seto ever lie to make somebody else feel better? Maybe for Mokuba, but that was Mokuba. He loved his younger brother… loved him like he had loved no other. He was the only person he would lie for, wasn't he? He was the only person he felt it necessary to act that way for.

        Right?

        He had noticed, over the past few days, that it was starting to become more difficult for him to lie to himself. It didn't help that he had doubled his attempts – every time he tried, something would be throw at him that made him more aware of his disability than ever.

        He opened his mouth to add more insults to the pile, but was interrupted when Ryuuji said in a voice that seemed unreasonably sober, especially when compared to all the prior conversation, "I was hoping you would say that."

        And everything that was on his lips died with those short words.

        Looking back, reflecting on the moment… he should have said something. He didn't know what, but he had an inherent feeling that he just should have said _something_, even if that something was not what he wanted to say or what he necessarily felt. But he couldn't. It was just too much too soon, and his mind just froze.

        The silence that followed was long, and perhaps the reason why Ryuuji hung up was because he thought that Seto had already done so himself.

        After all, what was the possibility that Kaiba Seto had finally found himself unable to say anything at all? What was the possibility of _that_?

        None. None at all.

        He wasn't getting very good at lying to himself anymore, was he?

~ * ~

        When the hapless subordinates came to pick up their boss in the morning, they discovered that the hotel room was securely locked and that the person inside wasn't about to move. Ryuuji had, after the phone call, started to feel the more lovely affects of his new experiment and decided to take Seto's advice. Whether he would have taken Seto's advice if he was sober was a different story. Then again, if he had already been sober, he wouldn't have been given the advice in the first place and thus would not have to be wondering about that question.

        Later, he would have no idea what had possessed him to do such a thing. He wouldn't be remembering much of it, granted, but everything he would remember would happily stick out in his mind until it slowly drove him crazy. Well, drove him more crazy that he already was, since some were under the impression that he was already at a rather unhinged mental state.

        But he didn't care about what that person had to say.

        Or… at least he hadn't before.

~ * ~

        After Ryuuji had hung up, Seto had found himself sitting there with the most numb expression on his face ever. It was as if he wasn't sure what had happened, or if all the prior events had happened. What he did know for sure was that he found himself sorely wishing that the Saturday before last had never happened – it would be so much easier to get on with life if all these strange things didn't keep happening.

        Although… a part of his mind couldn't help but protest. It was the same part of his mind that had started to panic when Ryuuji had asked about getting plastic surgery – the voice that wanted to tell Ryuuji that he was beautiful the way he was. But Kaiba Seto wasn't supposed to have those words in his vocabulary, let alone be able to think them.

        Yuriko… he would never tell her she was pretty, even if he thought it. And she didn't really seem to expect it of him. Ryuuji didn't expect it of him either – too busy pissing off at him or getting drunk, most likely – but he wanted to say it to him anyway. He didn't know why that was the case, but the part of him that wanted to really didn't care. It was a confounding concept to actually want to give a compliment… to actually _want_ to be kind… when he had spent so much of his life trying to do anything but.

        Ryuuji… Ryuuji had come into his life in a most unexpected way, and if he was to be truthful with himself, he wouldn't mind if he stayed. There was something about him that made him smile. Even the arguments, petty or serious, seemed sometimes to be more like banter. A competition of wits and attempts to rise above the other… a competition that he often won but sometimes didn't.

        It had never occurred to him that losing could be so… interesting.

        But that was the problem in a nutshell. His relationships weren't exactly supposed to be interesting. It was a sad fact, but more or less true. He couldn't afford to be distracted by his relationships – Mokuba being the only exception – when he had a company to run. And as Mokuba had slowly started to grow apart in a quest to discover his own life, Seto had started to get used to such detachment that he found it difficult now to grow close to anyone.

        He couldn't say that he had been this happy before, but he couldn't say that he was this confused before the incident either.

        Frowning slightly, he pushed himself off the bed and made his way to the computer. His room seemed to be so bare, even after years of living in the mansion. It scared him sometimes, if he wanted to admit such bizarre concepts, but usually he ignored it. How often did he spend here admiring the furniture anyway? Who cared what was on the walls or how the colors matched? He only lived there… he didn't care about it.

        But for the first time in a while, he was starting to wonder. Ryuuji's apartment – Ryuuji's and Honda's, but how often did he think about the brunette? – was small but filled with memories and life. His room was cold and empty.

        What was it about Ryuuji that suddenly made him care for these types of things? They were so petty, so unimportant. He shouldn't care… he didn't want to care. But a part of him that had been silent for so long was starting to rebel – something that wanted to enjoy life rather than waste it away on work and an empty home.

        _It all depends on your interpretation. You do what you see fit, and your life is meaningful only if you think it is. And in the end, that's all that matters. Not what anyone else thinks. Only you._

        Was that it? Was that what had… no, that wasn't right, he thought grimly to himself as the computer started to come out of its sleep, protesting the entire way.

        He bit his lip slightly as he glared at the computer, silently wishing for it to quicken its pace. The words were pounding in his head, incessant and damning.

        Everything that he had done in life… it had always been for others. His step-father, Mokuba, the rest of the _world_. This was the first time that somebody had the audacity to tell him to live for himself.

        If he had lived for himself from the very beginning, would he have done any of this? What would he be like if that was to happen? Would he be happier or worse off? Would he be….

        Why did he care about such things anyway? None of those scenarios were going to happen. He had chosen his path and now he was on it, and there was no way he could ever go into those other worlds. So there was really no point to all these 'what if's'… they were merely distractions, just like Otogi Ryuuji.

        Clicking open the document that he had been working on, making his way to the bottom… Kaiba Seto kept his eyes glued to the screen and his jaw set. He skimmed it over quickly… when he had first written it, it was really a venting of his emotions and an attempt to get everything out of his system.

        But with this new development, he realized that he would have to act quickly or risk losing the game that had somehow been created between Ryuuji and himself. A game that had rules nobody could understand and a goal that nobody could ever really attain.

        Once he was satisfied that there was nothing else he could add, he made his way to the send button and clicked on it. As he did so, he could almost feel somebody's eyes burning holes into his back. He wasn't sure whose eyes it was, but he knew that they were accusing him all the same. Accusing him of running away from something that he still did not quite comprehend, an odd activity that he had been doing all his life and could not let go of now.

~ * ~

        _Yuriko:_

_        We need to talk. When is the earliest time we can meet?_

GAH! *falls over dead* Nothing good to say so I won't say anything at all… except I haven't had this much trouble with a chapter since… *twitch* chapter 7? *DIES*

Some humor courtesy of Ninetails-chan, or another take on how the phone call conversation could have (and perhaps should have) gone. :)

Ryuuji: SEX!

Seto: 00; Who the heck are you?

Ryuuji: SEX!

On a more solemn note (I was considering putting 'sober' there for a moment… *innocent grin*), I will not be updating on the next update date (I originally said 'next week' but it isn't really next week. It's next next week, but that doesn't sound as good and now I'm just ranting). I have finals coming up and I really just need a break. I'll be putting up some contest entry up as a vague compensation… but best to check back on my profile next time too, just in case I decide to take another break. It's not that I'm tired of this fic… I'm just starting to feel very tired in general. I don't know why – I'm not even updating every week this time, but I just feel like I need a little time to myself to work on some other stories. ^^;; Besides, this chapter didn't leave off on _that_ bad of a cliffhanger, did it? ^.^ It's not as bad as the next couple chapters anyway, at least. *innocent giggle*

Sankyuu for your patience!

=(X.x)=

PM


	10. Uchi ni Kuru

Painted Sky

        Not much for me to say, although I apologize for the wait. But as I mentioned, I figured that the last chapter was the least cliff-hangy of all the upcoming chapters, and I needed a bit of relax period (a relax period as I study for finals… isn't that a contradiction in some way?).

        Information for this chapter… it takes place on Friday, and I think that's all I need to say in regard to this, at least.

        At this point, I will like to thank Cairnsy for giving me the most effective wake-up call that I have ever had in my life. I don't know where this story would have gone without you… it sounds odd because I would have continued it, of course, but I don't think it would have been the same. I don't think I would have enjoyed it as much, and I doubt it would have been as good as it can be. So for that, thanks. This chapter is for you.

        *pauses again*

        Ahhh! PM is such a sap person. X.x;;

Anyhow, again, many thanks to everyone for being so patient with me. I know it took me a while, and I really appreciate how nobody came after me. I was having problems with writing, and I really just needed some time to myself. So thanks to rayemars-san for beta-ing and to the reviewers: Cairnsy (I think you have reviewed before… it was an earlier chapter, I think. Wah, your review was so nice. @.@ I really appreciate it, although I feel a little bad because I don't know if I will answer all your questions. X.x Maybe the sequel which is bothering me happily….), MarmaladeGirl (oO;; Chama? Is that supposed to be a mix between –sama and –chan? ^~ Well, I didn't think this chapter was very cliffhangy. That might just be me though, since I know what is going to happen! XD Well, at least compared with this chapter, I'm pretty sure it was not at all cliffhangy), Dead Insomniac (XD Yes, Ryuuji's face really is perfection… Seto agrees, right? *purr*), Rowan and Sakura (Eep, is it that confusing? Gomeeeeeeen. @.@), Tuulikki (*feels loved… glomp* Sankyuu for always reviewing. *maul*), Pastbyer (I should put a disclaimer then that I don't replace keyboards ^~ Thanks for reviewing! Tis always appreciated! XD), Alana Hikari-chan (Well, Freud probably got the ideas from his own experience… which is pretty freaky if you think about it. P), Blackmoonlight (every 2 weeks unless there's problems… this time it was writer's block and finals, unfortunately. X.x), kkkkkkkkkkkkk (*wail* No! Too many ideas! No Jack Sparrow/Otogi Ryuuji romances! Bad PM bad! *sweatdrop* Heehee, the conversation between Seto and Yuriko should go like this – Seto: I'm in love with Ryuuji. Yuriko: Can I videotape it? XD Well, that's what I would say at least….), Eternal Kelpie (Ambitiously lazy? Oh, teach me your ways! Although that means I'll write less… XD Sorry for the wait, but hopefully it won't happen again. I'm glad you liked the other fics, and hope to see you again later. ^~), Lady Shirannan Santrea (Ah, my rambly livejournal. I hope it hasn't traumatized you too much. As for the time frame… *checks her outline* I think it's been two weeks, actually. Nearly three weeks by this chapter.), Anime Girl Sasami (*falls over* Ahhh! I think you've outdone yourself! ;-; Wah, I feel so loved in that you write this at school… *mauls* Loved your poem, by the way! Anyhow, as to answer your question about him being sober and in the middle of a mental breakdown… I thought it was kind of him being drunk and making his tongue a little more wraggly than usual, you know? Helped by that mental breakdown, at least. I liked your version of it… I wish I could think of things like that. *sniffle*), and fenne (Sorry about the overdoing Ryuuji's PMSing… but sometimes you run out of things to say and for some reason, that's what keeps coming back. X_X I have no idea why… but I'll work at it and try to convert you all the way. *noddu*). Arigatou gozaimasu, mina-san!

~ Uchi ni Kuru (Come Home) ~

        A homecoming is supposed to be a wondrous event involving hugs, kisses, and a great deal of romantic whatnot that provided a great deal of annoyance for those hapless souls who tried to slip by unnoticed. It would have been, simply put, the perfect moment for Seto to show up at the airport with an armload of roses to greet his more or less unacknowledged true love and _finally_ confess what was just waiting at the tip of his tongue to be said.

        Of course, that would be a rather impossible situation since – as duly noted in the previous paragraph – Seto did _not_ want to think of Ryuuji as his missing half and better part of himself (in fact, Seto tended to think of Ryuuji as the _worse_ part of himself since the raven-haired man did seem to embody most of the characteristics that he found unbearably annoying). The most likely situation involving Kaiba Seto with roses would have been that Seto was at the airport to pick up his girlfriend… not to greet an extremely distractive pest.

        But since Yuriko was quite happily in Domino City at the moment, there was no point to fantasize about such things. And since this translated into Seto not having a reason to be there (well, a reason that he was willing to count as a reason… it was all very confusing, especially for him, but he did his best to unconfuse himself by completely ignoring the situation in the first place), he was not there.

        It was a very simple concept to grasp, and Ryuuji never should have thought about it twice. In fact, he never should have entertained the thought of Seto being at the airport, and he didn't even know if he _wanted_ the brunette to be at the airport. That would just be a little too much too fast… which was strange if one thought about it because with Ryuuji, it wasn't like he was the type of person who worried about too much too quickly.

        No matter what he thought though, it didn't change the fact that when Ryuuji stepped off the plane and back onto Japan, Seto was not there to greet him. Luckily for the sake of everyone around them, Yuugi-tachi was still there so the grand homecoming could still continue – without the romantic overtones, of course. But for the first time for as long as he could remember, Otogi Ryuuji felt very lonely.

        And he had no idea why that was.

~ * ~

        The days between Ryuuji's rather rambunctious and decidedly disturbing phone call and return were relatively quiet, especially when compared to the previous weeks. There was, however, a minor incident where Yami no Yuugi and Yami no Bakura went through break-up number 529 (not that anybody was worried. There had been, after all, 528 break-ups prior to this one, and each time the two were to be found 'making up' in the most unexpected places. A brief list of such places included the game shop, Ryuuji's game shop, the post office, the first floor of Kaiba Corporation, the library, the park, the laundromat, the toy store (many small children were traumatized, but according to Yami no Bakura, that had been the point), and the police station. The last of these was due to being arrested for public indecency, although Yami no Bakura tended to pick the locks rather than stay any longer than it took to traumatize the other prisoners and guards). Yami no Bakura soon found himself sleeping at his omote's home again. Said omote, unfortunately, was not very pleased with this development. It mainly had to do with the fact that the one day his boyfriend was over for the night, the two found themselves baby-sitting a very sulky and _very_ bitchy Egyptian spirit who seemed to spend most of his time spying on the poor couple. Needless to say, not much was done that night… and Ryou was quite ready to throw Yami no Bakura out if it wasn't for the tiny fact that Yami no Bakura was a bit of a psychopath and there was no telling what he would do when he was in such a pet mood. [1]

        But as dramatic as that all was, Honda really thought that it couldn't compare to the interesting relationship (or lack thereof) between Kaiba Seto and Otogi Ryuuji.

        In the past week that Ryuuji had been off having the time of his life in America (at least, that's what Honda thought… but he would find out differently quite quickly and rather painfully), Honda had been doing quite a bit of fantasizing when it came to the life (romantic one included) of his currently missing in action roommate. They were, of course, more than just roommates, so it wasn't that Honda was trying to get rid of Ryuuji. It honestly had nothing to do with that, despite the fact that Honda's life would become much easier without having to deal with a rather PMS-y individual living across the hallway. It was more of a big brother protectiveness that seemed so out of place with him. He had never been an older brother, only a younger, and yet it was almost like he felt an obligation to shove Ryuuji in the right direction. 

        Why that direction had to involve Seto was a bit of a different story. It was question that probably bothered _him_ more than it bothered either Ryuuji or Seto, simply because he wasn't sure if he could even trust the billionaire. Nearly getting killed by a person could do that to a person, yet Honda still found himself trying to push them together.

        Well, push them together wasn't exactly the right way to put it. They obviously liked each other… if only because they spent so much time denying it while simultaneously proving themselves wrong just by the looks they gave each other… and Honda could see that easily. Sure, he wasn't the relationship expert… but something as obvious as _this_ was bound to make itself known.

        It was just that… well, Honda wanted Ryuuji to be happy. He knew that he wouldn't be completely content if one of his friends kept pining after somebody, even if that particular friend was trying to pretend that he wasn't pining. No matter how many doubts and suspicions he might have of the blue-eyed brunette, he just couldn't question the validity of there being something between the two. The changes (sometimes positive and sometimes negative) inspired in the game inventor was more than proof of that; in the entire time Honda had known Ryuuji, he had never seen him act _this_ way.

        Although to be completely truthful, he wasn't quite sure how to define _this_ way. It was something so inexplicable and unexplainable that Honda avoided trying to understand it, instead giving it a label and allowing himself to be content with that. Some people found it necessary to explain every single thing that happened, but Honda had long ago learned that sometimes it was just easiest to let things happen as they did rather than try to dissect the hidden meanings behind it. Why did it matter how something happened? Wasn't it more important to just acknowledge that particular something and _then_ act upon it?

        One of the things that he knew was that Ryuuji had never changed much when he was with Malik. But that had been a stupid little fling that both were surprised had lasted as long as it did. After that, there had been no more dates, although Honda had often found strange people stalking his roommate. Ryuuji tended to shrug it off, interspersing his explanations with little mind games that always lost Honda before they were finished, and he had long ago learned not to ask for any more specifics or risk completely losing his mind.

        He had a feeling that that was the point.

        When he had told Ryuuji that the little 'accident' he'd had with Seto might have been a hint that he needed to… well, get out more (not that he would ever repeat that, for fear of his life), he hadn't really meant it to be cruel or funny. Okay, so he could have been a little less blunt, but it wasn't like he was deliberately taunting his roommate. What he had said were things that he had truly meant, whether or not Ryuuji appreciated them or not. He wasn't out to get Ryuuji or to make his life miserable. A miserable Ryuuji usually meant a miserable Honda, and it wasn't like he particularly _enjoyed_ being miserable. It had just been something that he had been wondering for a very long time, and he had simply chosen a very bad time to express it.

        Jyounouchi would have a full on heart attack if he knew what kind of thoughts Honda was having right now. Not to imply that the blonde was close to the raven-haired man, but Jyounouchi could be pretty protective when it came to his friends, even ones who had completely messed around with his mind on their first meeting. And simply put, the blonde duelist had many more suspicions and problems with Kaiba Seto than Honda would ever have… most of it was prejudice, of course, but Jyounouchi did have a reason to be worried. After all, what about Ryou? During the duel between Yami no Yuugi and Yami no Bakura [2], Seto had been so willing to sacrifice the life of somebody else just to win a game. That didn't quite seem like the type of person that should be having relationships with _anybody_, with perhaps the exception of Mokuba.

        In that case, Seto had been willing to sacrifice _himself_.

        It was an odd situation, to say the least. No wonder Honda was having such fits about it. On one hand, Ryuuji genuinely seemed to be improving with the newfound presence of the blue-eyed CEO, and both of them seemed to be actively seeking each other out. Even though Ryuuji's last move had been solely to avoid Seto, the fact that he was willing to make such a dramatic move must have meant _something_.

        But there were the nasty parts too. All relationships came with downfalls, of course, but this one seemed to be a bit more… dangerous. Even if the two got together, could Seto properly care for him? He wasn't thinking about this from the point of view from a mother who didn't want to let her baby chick fly away, but from an almost pragmatic standpoint where he didn't want to end up being a shoulder to cry on. Well, not to imply that Ryuuji would cry… that would ruin his eyeliner.

        Stranger things had happened.

        Such thoughts had been nagging him for quite a while, but he had never really stopped to think them through as thoroughly as he did now. There was just so much to think about that Honda was starting to wonder why he had ever gotten involved in the first place. Heh, if only Ryuuji could hear him _now_. He would probably have a field day with that information.

        Speaking of Ryuuji, said dice-obsessed game inventor was currently strolling into the terminal from the airplane ramp, looking quite a bit ill for worse.

        He never had been good on airplanes.

        Honda had to hide his smirk behind his hand as he went with the others to greet their friend. Ryuuji, whose sixth sense of people having a laugh at his expense was heightened after airplane trips, noticed the smile immediately and scowled at him, causing them all to laugh as they started to walk out of the airport. Almost immediately, the two fell back from the rest of the group who continued on ahead chatting blithely.

        "It's a shame Kaiba couldn't make it, huh?" Honda asked casually, causing Ryuuji to look at him sharply. Or, he would have looked at his friend sharply if it wasn't for the fact that he was still feeling nauseous from the trip here, and so he settled on turning _very_ slowly with an absolutely icy expression on his face that reminded the brunette quite strangely of a certain other brunette.

        "Honda. I have just spent an entire week listening to a bunch of mindless idiots prattle on about mistakes that any person with half a brain could fix. I have sat through meetings that had no content, had every one of my decisions questioned repeatedly, and been recommended everything from restaurants and strip clubs to mental hospitals and funeral homes. I have just sat in an airplane for fifteen plus hours. I am jetlagged. I have also embarrassed myself in ways that I do not want to explain to you. So if you _really_ want to die, I suggest you repeat that statement of yours right now."

        And with those final words of greeting, Ryuuji turned and stalked away, leaving Honda there to stare after him. For a moment more, the brunette stared at his retreating form with mild interest before shrugging.

        "Well hello to you too."

~ * ~

        By the time the small group had reached the apartment, Ryuuji was starting to feel reasonably guilty about having snapped at Honda.

        All of that went flying out the window when Jyounouchi opened his mouth before Ryuuji had even had time to put down his bags.

        "You're in love with Kaiba?!"

        And then the suitcases hit the floor with a loud bang as Ryuuji whipped around for the sole purpose of screaming out, "What the _hell_ have you been _telling_ everyone, Honda?!"

        He had, on the plane trip here, promised himself that he would not scream no matter what happened. This was a very difficult resolution, but Ryuuji thought he might be able to manage it. Of course, he hadn't exactly counted on _Honda telling the whole world about his business_, so all those plans went out the window with a sickening splat.

        "I didn't say anything!" Honda replied defensively, but then he found himself being fixated with one of Ryuuji's _glares_. Not just a glare, but a _glare_… one of those things that made you confess everything the person wanted to know, along with every wrong deed you had committed since that time you broke your mother's favorite glass vase and blamed it on your older sister as a lesson that your Super Death Killer Action Figure was _not_ to be paired up with Barbie. Needless to say, that little act had not worked, and next thing he knew, his sister was getting revenge on him by making him baby-sit his _darling_ new nephew who had from there proceeded to make his life a living hell. The nice thing about it was that he wasn't the only one irked by his sister's son – Anzu had discovered what it was like to be the subject of a crush of a perverted baby, as had Mai and Isis. Georgie [3] was currently (and quite disturbingly) fixated on none other than Otogi Ryuuji at the moment, which meant that Ryuuji was getting batches of roses for his birthday, New Year's, Christmas, Valentine's Day, White Day (never mind that on White Day, you were supposed to give a gift to somebody who gave _you_ a gift on Valentine's Day), and July 4th (and never _mind_ that Independence day was an _American _holiday). Honda had no idea how his sister could _let_ her son buy flowers for somebody who was practically twice his age, but he figured that the little brat was conniving enough to tell her that it was gifts for teachers.

        Anyhow, none of that had anything to do with the topic on hand, and if Honda didn't answer the question _fast_, he was going to be acting like the Wicked Witch of the West when she melted into a giant puddle.

        "Err… maybe I said something?"

        Before Ryuuji could reach over and try to strangle Honda, Anzu spoke up nervously, 'Ne, Otogi-kun… what Jyounouchi meant to say was…."

        Her voice trailed off at this point. Basically, what Jyounouchi had said was exactly what they had all meant to say, except they would have tried to use a more gentle tone. When it came to Ryuuji, people tended to speak to him like he was a wild lion ready to bolt… or spring up and eat all of them.

        "We… were just wondering how your relationship with Kaiba-kun developed so quickly," Yuugi supplied. It was a good answer, unless it was interpreted the wrong way. And since this was a large group involving two dead people, two possessed people, two loud people, two not-so-loud people, and one sometimes very psychopathic game inventor, somebody was bound to interpret it the wrong way.

        Remembering his prior guilt at yelling at Honda was the only thing that kept Ryuuji from completely going off the rocker again. So instead of going into another fit, he just fixated his fearsome glare on Yuugi, who responded to it with an innocent smile. It might have worked if Ryuuji hadn't known Yuugi well enough to know that the shorter man was anything _but_ innocent, but since Ryuuji _did_ know, it was all a moot point.

        "It is _not_ a relationship," he finally growled out, wondering if anybody would believe that lie. The only person he could think of who would be willing to give him that was Seto, but he wasn't here right now. What was even worse was the fact that he _wanted_ Seto here right now, if only to back him up when reiterating that they _had no relationship_. Which was true, in a way. They spent too much time denying that they had a relationship to recognize that that was, in a twisted way, a relationship.

        "Could have fooled me," Jyounouchi grumbled under his breath, although he practically made sure that everyone in the room could hear his words. This did not go well with any of the occupants – especially since most of them didn't want to witness a hissy fit – and before Ryuuji could even open his mouth, Mai was already smacking her husband on the head.

        "Katsuya!" she snarled as she grabbed him by an ear and started to shake him dramatically, "Don't make this situation any worse than it already is!"

        "Since when was my relationship a situation that you guys had to deal with?"

        The sudden question threw them all off guard, and soon everyone was staring at him with more than a little bewilderment. Maybe it was because the words had been spoken so calmly… Ryuuji didn't exactly seem like the type of person who could demonstrate such calmness, especially in this particular moment.

        Having caught their attention, Ryuuji shrugged slightly as he looked away, careful to never make eye contact with the small group, "I appreciate your concern, but even if there was a situation here, it's my problem to deal with. So I would appreciate it more if you all backed off and let me do that."

        He paused here, to make room for a reply in case anybody had one to give. However, everyone seemed so dumbstruck that none of them could form a coherent sentence, although several of them tried to do so. The most they got was garbled words. Thus, deciding that nothing particularly pertinent or just plain understandable was going to be said in his immediate future, Ryuuji simply shrugged again.

        "I'm going to take a nap."

        With that he walked past them towards the hallway that led to his bedroom. He paused, momentarily, next to Honda – as if challenging the brunette to stop him. But nothing of the sort happened, so it wasn't a problem.

        Depending on what one's definition of 'problem' is, at least. [4]

~ * ~

        The last thing Kaiba Seto wanted to happen right now was for him to walk into the restaurant just as Otogi Ryuuji was walking out. This would, inevitably, cause some type of disturbance that he honestly did not need to deal with now, so it was reasonable that he would not want to be faced with.

        But fate is such a fickle thing that enjoys the suffering of others, so it couldn't just leave Seto alone despite the fact that Ryuuji was busy being welcomed back into the country. So, instead, it decided to send an appropriate substitute.

        And it was just as Seto was walking into the restaurant that said substitute was walking out, and the two somehow managed to slam right into each other. It wasn't anybody's fault – both had been preoccupied with their respective businesses. Seto, on one hand, had been busy rehearsing everything that he was going to say (despite the fact that he always seemed calm and collected, that trait mostly came from a combination of practice and a great deal of will power), while Yami no Yuugi had been so involved in the inventory list he had his eyes practically glued to that neither noticed the other until it was much too late for either to escape.

        Fate was having a field day right about now.

        "Urmph," Yami no Yuugi mumbled as he reached down to pick up the lists that had dropped onto the ground during the collision. Seto watched him dispassionately until the former pharaoh looked up at him, "You could have helped, you know."

        "Hrm," was the only reply as Seto continued to watch him. "What are you doing here?"

        It wasn't a nice question – Seto was obviously annoyed with his presence, and he was not about to do anything to hide his irritation. He had, after all, a lot going on in his mind, and the unwelcome company of his old crush was not something that he was going to be very receptive to.

        The spirit didn't look at all disturbed by the question – instead, he just swung his backpack over so that it was resting on one shoulder and opened it so that he could stuff it with the papers he had just picked up off the ground. Seto couldn't help but twitch ever so slightly when he saw a familiar pair of glassy black eyes looking up at him from its depths, but before he could comment on it, Yami no Yuugi was finally answering his question.

        "It's not like you own every building in Domino City, Kaiba. I have a right to be here too," he snapped as he turned to face the CEO. "Aibou had a problem with the suppliers, and since he was busy today, I offered to go sort it out for him."

        Seto had to bite his tongue to keep from asking if Yami no Yuugi's idea of diplomacy involved subtle threats and punishment games.

        "Anyhow, I stopped here for something to eat before I went back to the shop. I needed _something_ relaxing lest I go back there and accidentally mind crush every idiot that I had to talk to."

        Even as he spoke so frankly about destroying the minds of others, Yami no Yuugi was pulling Yuki out of the backpack so that the little white seal could rest in his arms. Eying Seto somewhat worriedly, he paused before handing the other man his precious stuffed animal.

        Perhaps he was distracted and didn't really notice it until it was happening, or perhaps he had just completely lost his mind. But Seto found himself taking the little seal, whose fur was just as soft as he had ever imagined. As soft as Ryuuji's hair looked… and maybe a part of him could still remember stroking the silky hair during their drunken rendezvous. The feelings came up – not for long – and then the pharaoh had finished zipping his backpack and had taken Yuki back without even a word of thanks.

        Yami no Yuugi was an enigma, and not because he was a 3,000 year old pharaoh who had been brought into the modern world by means of a gold trinket. It was more of the fact that he was a 3,000 year old man who acted like a sixteen year old. His fashion sense had not changed much over the years, as he was still clothed in overly flamboyant….

        His thought seemed to trail off as soon as it came across the word 'flamboyant'. That word, of course, immediately brought up images of a certain someone else, and that was the last thing he wanted to think about. So he did his best to snap his attention back to the present, although it was more or less guaranteed that it wouldn't work in the long run.

        "Still playing with toys, Yami? I doubt the suppliers were very impressed with that," he spoke coldly, giving Yuki a long look. Yuki gazed back defiantly, and if he was a real creature, Seto could have sworn that it had tried to snap and bare its teeth at him.

        This was probably proof that he was becoming as bad as everyone else.

        Instead of rising to the bait though, Yami no Yuugi just gave him an equally defiant look, "What I enjoy is none of your business, Kaiba. And I would appreciate it if you kept your comments to yourself."

        Seto just rolled his eyes. It always amazed him how contradictory the pharaoh could be… on one hand so imposing, but at the same time he would be holding the delicate white seal and his image of strength would be somewhat diminished by such a childish action.

        It annoyed him, frankly.

        "Well. I would be lying if I said it was nice seeing you, so good-bye." His words were curt and to the point, as if he was deliberately trying to brush the game king away as he would do with a speck of dust. Unfortunately, Yami no Yuugi could be a total prick when he wanted to be, and a stubborn one at that.

        "I saw your girlfriend in there before I left."

        Seto paused midstep, cursing himself silently as he did. This was not a situation that he wanted to be caught in, but he reluctantly turned to face the shorter man, "So?"

        Yami no Yuugi's brow was somewhat furrowed, as if he was deep in thought or simply confused, "What's been going on between you and Otogi, exactly?"

        The CEO couldn't help but blink at that. Now where on earth had that come from? It wasn't exactly a small leap from an observation about his girlfriend to a sudden attempt at an in-depth conversation about somebody who he obviously did not like. And it was also something that he did not want to be reminded of. He spent so much time trying to distance himself, and yet in the most awkward situations, it would be brought up again. What was _up_ with that?

        "_That_ is none of your business, Yami," he snapped, but the way he said his words more quickly than usual gave away that slight sense of panic he might have felt.  Might have… perhaps should have. He wasn't sure anymore. When it came to Ryuuji, he could never be sure anymore.

        "Do you like him? Does he like you? Anzu and Honda-kun seem convinced that there's something going on between you two, and they probably know the best," Yami no Yuugi was being blunt, and he knew it all too well. But he continued, nevertheless. "I'm just trying to figure out what is happening."

        "There is nothing going on. And even if there was, it doesn't involve _you_ in any way. So why don't you go back to playing with your stuffed animals?"

        If he was expecting the spirit to get annoyed and walk away seething, he was sadly disappointed. Instead, Yami no Yuugi just continued to give him the same, expressionless look.

        "He's my friend. I don't know what you're doing, and you're right. It probably isn't my business. But I don't want to see him get hurt. [5]"

        Seto snorted, "I doubt he needs your help to prevent that."

        The shorter man shrugged as he started to turn, "You'd be surprised."

        He didn't have a reply to that. After all, everything that had happened since he had gotten the shock of his life when he woke up to discover an unwanted guest residing in his bed had more or less been a surprise, and he wouldn't really be astounded if there were similar shocks awaiting his presence. He was almost starting to get used to it, in an odd way.

        "Are you finished?"

        Yami no Yuugi didn't even bother to reply to that. Instead, he just started to walk away, which in a way was turning the tables on Seto. He was usually the one doing the walking away, and he didn't quite like the feeling of being abandoned. It felt rather… strange.

        "I don't want to see you hurt either."

        The words were so casually thrown out, as if they weren't supposed to mean everything that they did. Seto almost couldn't believe that he heard them correctly, except for the fact that he tended not to second-guess himself on these types of things. But even then, he couldn't believe that Yami no Yuugi would say such a thing, as if he actually acknowledged the presence of those who were not part of his brainless cheerleader crowd.

        And as he stared at the receding figure, trying to think of _something_ to throw back so that he would not completely lose face, the only thing he could see was a pair of glassy black eyes, staring at him balefully until they, along with their owner, disappeared into a sea of faces that cared nothing of his thoughts [6].

~ * ~

        Reunions, like homecomings, are supposed to be wondrous events involving hugs, kisses, and a great deal of romantic whatnot that provided a great deal of annoyance for those hapless souls who had to endure bearing witness to the situation. And since it had been a while since Yuriko had seen Seto, it might have been labeled a reunion by more dreamy individuals who probably knew nothing of the couple.

        But since this was Kaiba Seto, Yuriko knew what to expect. Or really, what not to expect.

        Her mind wandered back to the e-mail that had been so suddenly sent to her computer. Although the words had not seemed too out of character for her boyfriend, there was still something about them that made her a little more worried than usual. After all, even if they didn't always act like it, she did care for him and could read him better than most could. And even if they had only been words, she was still bothered by them even if she shouldn't have been. It wasn't something she could really explain – she just accepted it and chose to deal with it when the appropriate time came.

        That time was fast approaching, in her opinion.

        She wasn't sure how long had passed since she had arrived before Seto came, but suddenly she found herself blinking at her boyfriend, almost as if he was some type of specter that had come to haunt her. "Hey."

        "I'm sorry I'm late. I ran into someone," he replied simply as he eased into his seat across from her, intense blue eyes staring directly at her. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long."

        It was almost like some age old dance, where they would avoid the real topic at hand. He wasn't that late, and she hadn't been waiting that long. And it wasn't as if he was so polite that he had to apologize just for being a couple seconds late. It was really just a ploy so that they wouldn't have to talk about whatever he had asked her here to discuss in the first place.

        Strange that people tended to avoid what they never could. They tried as much as they want, but in the end, it was always there waiting for them. Perhaps it was better to just get to the point instead of playing these games, but then what would be the point of life?

        Still, despite such thoughts, she fixed him with one of her concerned looks. "Seto?"

        Seto had, in a way, hated those looks so much, although he was much too polite to say so. It made him feel like he was pathetic and in need of sympathy, and that was certainly something he didn't like very much. He should tell her as much, but he didn't want to say anything.

        Was that why Ryuuji interested him so? He never felt this way around the raven-haired man, with those mischievous green eyes that always seemed to be coming up with new ideas to mess with his mind. And wasn't he the same, with the way he acted? It was as if he had found somebody who was so similar to him, yet with enough differences to make them oceans apart. It was difficult to understand, really, which was why he didn't like to think about such things.

        Besides, this wasn't about him. This was about her. The person he loved. The person he was supposed to want to spend the rest of his life with, otherwise he wouldn't be doing this.

        Right?

        But as he looked into her dark blue eyes, he really had to wonder.

        "… Seto?" she repeated, albeit more hesitantly. He blinked, mentally cursing himself for his lapse of concentration as he tried to look as cool and collected as possible.

        "Yes?"

        "Daijoubu ka? [7]"

        "I'm fine," he replied a bit more impatiently then he meant to, and he couldn't help but be relieved when she just sat back instead of continuing her line of questioning or looking hurt. He wasn't sure what to do if something like that had happened. "I'm sorry. It's just been rough lately."

        She didn't reply, but she usually didn't. The expression on her face clearly said that she didn't believe him though.

        But she didn't say anything either.

        Ryuuji would have said something. Ryuuji was perceptive and he would have said something… probably along the lines of 'Do I _look_ like I'm a complete idiot?' or 'We're not all so blinded by our adoration of you, you know.' Something that would be inconceivably rude and annoying but amazingly perceptive at the same time. Something that would drive him _absolutely crazy_ but something that he couldn't quite live without either.

        All these contradictions were really starting to screw up his life.

        Something within him would not stop screaming about whether or not this was what he really wanted. Something within him would just _not_ leave him alone to do what had to be done. It asked about that _other_ person, the one he had tried to avoid thinking about when he had made this decision. It asked him if he was willing to make this mistake, if he was willing to give up that special somebody who would make the rest of his life a perfect bliss (although since this was Ryuuji, a hell as well).

        And the rest of him was telling the little voice to shut it because it wasn't going to happen.

        Yet no matter how much of him tried to silence that dissenting voice, it would not back down. It meant so much to it, apparently, that it refused to let go of a dream that was waiting to happen. This was a mistake, it kept reiterating. This is a _mistake_. _Why_ are you doing this to yourself?

        _Why?_

        Why wouldn't it go away?

        Clearing his throat, he let his mouth do the talking instead of his brain or his heart. Those two parts of him were too busy fighting each other to notice that he was barreling ahead despite whatever objections they might have, and he had to do this before he completely lost his nerve.

        _I don't want to see you hurt either._

        What had he meant by that?

        Mechanically, desperately, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet ring box. Wordlessly, he slid it across the table with such precise aim that it came to a halt right before her.

        When Takashi Yuriko was a little girl, she'd had the fantasy that many little girls have of their loved one getting down on his (or her's, depending on the individual) knees and taking her hands in his as they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. And then he would say those words that supposedly everyone is waiting for as he would slip the ring onto her finger.

        The ring was something that was indeed out of her fantasy life. The small black velvet box had opened to reveal a delicate silver ring with a small blue sapphire on each side of a diamond, and it really was quite beautiful [8]. Quite the thing that every little girl dreamed about, really.

        And when she had been little, she had imagined that her reply would not really be words, per se, but she would instead throw herself onto her beloved and kiss him repeatedly. And then he would swing her into his arms and the two would depart, probably to either call all their friends with the good news or have wild bunny sex in the back of his car. Perhaps both, although probably not at the same exact time.

        But since all little girls had to grow up, she instead did what the adult Takashi Yuriko would have done.

        "Yes."

Commentary:

[1] I realize this is a rather useless and disturbing digression from the point on hand… but when I originally wrote it, I just couldn't throw it out. ^^;;

[2] Reference to the first Battle Ship duel, volumes 23 – 24.

[3] I think we had the discussion in this story about how his name is supposed to be spelled in English, and the translated Shounen Jump says 'Joh-ji'. ^.^ However, since I've just been so trained to think that it was Georgie ever since Kei-kun told me (and now _insists_ upon ever since I casually mentioned it to her again) it was that (and she should know! Grr! Of course, this did come from the person who told me that Kaiba and YnYuugi's duel on Pegasus's castle would turn out a tie…), I'll just be keeping it at that. ^~

[4] When I finished this scene, I realized that Ryou never spoke. It's not very important, but he was there… I don't want to sound like I'm leaving him out, but there wasn't really anything for him to say. ^^;;

[5] Mention "Spider Web" and prepare to be whacked.

[6] Unless one of them was a tabloid reporter, at least.

[7] Are you okay?

[8] rayemars-san commented here about how the ring was kinda tasteless, and I was thinking about changing it. But then I thought about it a bit more and decided that Kaiba didn't have much taste anyway so it was okay (I mean, that purple outfit? What was *up* with those sleeves? It made him look like he had horns on his shoulders or something. Similar gripe with the Battle City outfit, although the turtleneck was just _sexy_. But those weird buckles on his arms… urmph). *ducks*

        For those of you who have watched _Sex and the City_ before, I was thinking about having Yuriko say 'Alrighty'. X.x;; Gotta stop watching TV, methinks…. P

        Anyhow, sorry about the wait! I hope this chapter makes up for it… it's the first one in a while that I really enjoyed writing. Gah that sounds depressing. *looks ashamed*

        You know, I was thinking about the engagement ring and wondering what it would be like if the conversation went something like this.

Seto: Do you like it? (Like he would ever care enough to say that!)

Yuriko: Well… I kinda wanted emeralds.

Seto: I know. But they reminded me too much of his eyes.

Yuriko: Oo;;

=(^.~)=

PM


	11. Usotsuki

Painted Sky

      Kaiba Seto is a total bastard in the Doom arc, and that is _the_ highlight of the entire thing (along with YnYuugi calling Haga a 'stinky bug bastard' and watching Ryuuji get beat up a bit. Is it just me or do the animators really like to see these characters in pain? I mean, Ryuuji was practically getting lessons on how to fly. Rebecca barely gets bruised. And Ryuuji's _flying. _That's not fair if you ask me…), which in my opinion says quite a bit about the whole bloody mess that the writers cooked up (not Takahashi-san).

      Chapter takes place on Saturday.

Many thanks to rayemars-san for beta-ing this, and to the readers! *laughs* I guess everyone was surprised by the engagement thing, and I can only feel for poor Yuriko. *pets her* I'm going to have to get her therapy after this mess. ^~

Dead Insomniac ~ *feels loved and pets her new shiny trophy* Yay! It's so pretty! *prances off with it, trips over a rock, and gets smacked in the head by it* o.o;;

Pastbyer ~ I could tell you how it's going to end, but that would just ruin the surprise. P I was actually pretty surprised… I thought it was pretty obvious that Seto was going to propose. But that's probably because I'm the one who thought of this storyline, and for the Seto in my mind, that was just the next step. *sigh* Baka!Kaiba… it's been a while since I got to use that nickname for him!

Feirdra ~ Yes, I like putting twists in my stories that make the characters suffer. *grins and flips hair over shoulder* It's a gift! *gets bashed on the head by a Mallet-wielding~!YnYuugi* x_X Yes, unfortunately Baka!Kaiba really did just slide the ring over and wait. I was originally going to have him ask, but then I thought about it and decided that he wasn't really the type of person who would say those words. It'd be a blow to his ego. -_-;;

Tuulikki ~ Maybe it's the Seto/Jyounouchi fans. They waaaaaaant you back. They neeeeeeeeeeeeeed you back. *makes spooky sounds and clanks old chains* It probably is my fault that Seto's so stupid in this story, but my justification is that he is a bit of an idiot (emotionally-wise anyway) to begin with. ^~ No, your ellipses have never bothered me… when I first started writing, I had a billion ellipses. And then I discovered the miracle of dashes! So now you just see a lot of dashes instead of ellipses, but it's really the same thing.

Rowan and Sakura ~ Oo;; Should I stay out of this? Yes, Seto, tell Ryuuji what you need to say in his dreams. And then you can have hot bunny sex in said dreams and PM can write all about it because only in dreams can Ryuuji go through everything from playboy bunny outfit to slut~!angel in twenty seconds flat. Although if they want to try experimenting such things in real life, PM has nooooo problem!

Vulpes, Demon of fuzzy ears ~ Actually, I don't think I got a review from you last time. X.x I even checked later just to make sure because I was worried I really did forget you, but I still don't see it…. I'm pretty lazy so I just go on the reviews for chapter (insert chapter number here) and then write my thank you's that way so I can directly answer any questions. ^^;;

Cairnsy ~ How'd you like the new flamboyant Jyounouchi Katsuya with eyeliner? *innocent look* Yeah, now I'm trying to figure out why it was silver. Maybe I can pretend that when I said silver I meant silver colored, so it's really white gold since they really do look the same. P Or we can just continue on the tangent that Seto is a clueless freaky psychopath. *cackle*

Lady Shriannan Santrea ~ The homecomings part was actually inspired by "Love Actually"… good movie if you haven't seen it yet. The stories in it are really cute, although there was one or two that I didn't really like. But the rest were really just adorable. ^~

Blackmoonlight ~ Well, if she said no, then the story would be… one chapter shorter or something. XP This chapter wouldn't have to exist! Which would make me happier because this chapter gave me h-e-l-l…. I doubt this story will ever get published. They're not my characters, after all. ^~

Alana Hikari-Chan ~ I am nice to them! I mean, Ryuuji got the sex and Ryou eventually got the man after 8 years of seperation and a car crash… err, that really isn't helping my argument, is it?

Ninetails-chan ~ Shh! Don't tell everyone I have the chapters finished ahead of time! I need excuses to slack off! *innocent* And keep the dust bunnies away from Ryuuji. Imagine Seto trying to have sex with him only to end up with… lots of… dust. UGH. Not a pretty mental picture. Although anything you say usually is not a good mental image. *grimace and innocent grin* Kyaha… I love the equation. Sparkly Object. Baka!Kaiba… *sigh*

~ Usotsuki (Liar) ~

        News, whether it was good or bad, had a habit of spreading like the plague (which was always bad, but that was a completely different story). It didn't matter what the news was about or what it pertained to, but as long as it was worthy of being printed on the front page of every major gossip column, then it would make itself known to just about everybody except perhaps the hermit who lived in Siberia with nothing more than a paper box to live in.

        Ryuuji, not being a hermit who lived in Siberia with nothing more than a paper box to live in, was no exception to this rule. So when he opened up the newspaper on that fateful Saturday morning, he found himself blinking at a large article proclaiming the happy engagement of Takashi Yuriko and Kaiba Seto.

        He blinked at it for approximately twenty more seconds before throwing the paper into the garbage, even though Honda had yet to read it. This type of behavior inevitably led to another argument between the two that resulted in a door being slammed as Ryuuji left for some type of safe haven. Where that safe haven was, he couldn't be sure, especially since the entire city was bound to be buzzing about the news. The news that he so desperately wanted to get away with, even though he had nearly convinced himself that he didn't really care.

        Across town, Seto was also finding himself in a somewhat similar predicament. It wasn't that he was discovering this news for the first time, but more of that he was in such disbelief of his own actions that he needed some type of reminder. He had, upon waking, spent several hours wondering if the entire thing had been nothing more than a dream. By the time he finally read those printed words, he felt like he was wandering the world in a fog of perpetual disbelief. It was… well, he _knew_ that it had happened… remembered buying the ring, remembered giving the ring, remembered how she said yes… but he really could not believe it.

        Was that why he hadn't even said the words when he had given Yuriko the ring? Was that why he had not even been able to say 'Will you marry me?'

        A tiny part of his brain was still screaming out about what a bloody idiot he was, and the rest of him just calmly accepted it. In any case, it wasn't like he could just _deny_ it.

        Well, technically he could. But just because he could didn't necessarily mean it would get anywhere, so he just let it go and didn't bother to try and lie to himself anymore. What was the point? It was difficult to believe your lies when the results of your actions were plastered on every major newspaper (and basically all of the completely disreputable ones as well).

        Unless he tried to tell himself that this was really for the best.

        Maybe deep down inside, there was a part of him that really did love Yuriko and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her. Why not, anyway? He had proposed to her… there had to be some reason for that. Some reason that didn't involve green eyes… some reason that wasn't the same exact reason why he was starting to regret all of this. But one thought about those before-mentioned his eyes and he found his resolve crumbling… just like that.

        Just like that.

        It was amazing that one person could affect him like this. Especially since he had not known this person for very long… sure, the two had seen each other at school and during Battle City and even once in a while during social functions. But otherwise? He hadn't known anything about Otogi Ryuuji except for the fact that he had created a game and had a really nice ass. Well, the ass part was probably something that he would keep to himself. God knows what type of teasing the raven-haired man would be able to get out of that if he should find out.

        Not that it mattered.

        Glaring bitterly at the newspaper, he let out a low growl before tossing it into the trashcan and leaving his mansion surrounded by storm clouds of his own making.

        He was approximately three feet from his home when he realized that just about everybody around was staring at him as if he was some type of specter.

        It wasn't everyday that you saw the great Kaiba Seto walking, after all.

~ * ~

        When Ryuuji was young, he had always enjoyed going to the park. His mother used to take him there where she would set up a canvas and just paint. Sometimes it was the scenery and other times the people. There were even times when she would paint things that weren't even there, and all of them were equally beautiful in their own way. His father had never put much stock in them, complaining about how useless they were. She would always reply that they had value to _her_, and that was the only thing that mattered.

        Of course, Ryuuji had always loved her paintings, so that helped too.

        After she had died and he'd been moved around with his father on a crazy quest for revenge against Yuugi's grandfather, Ryuuji had discovered an escape in the parks that he hadn't before. If somebody was to psychoanalyze him, they might go on about how the trees and open spaces represented freedom or something like that. He, on the other hand… well, he just liked to look at the landscape.

        He didn't really seem like the type of person to enjoy the quiet, but it offered him a time to think and get away from the chaos that defined the rest of his life. Honda sometimes teased him about it, telling him that he probably spent the entire time fidgeting and searching for somebody to annoy. Ryuuji had let that go, if only because he knew that the brunette was going to be finding something extremely wet and slimy in his bed that night.

        His personal preference was lakes, although they were not what one would call common. Luckily, Domino Park had a very nice man-made lake, one that people liked to have picnics by. But that event was becoming more rare as the days went by, replaced by air conditioning and TV, thus offering him the pleasure of having the entire area to himself on the better days.

        This was one of those days, and he was grateful for it. Probably it was because everybody was too busy gossiping about Seto's engagement, a part of his mind sniped cynically, but he ignored that. What did he care about what Seto had to do? It was a good riddance, if you asked him.

        Well… nobody was asking him. And if they were, they were probably expecting a much different answer from that.

        Not that he cared. Why should he, anyway? People were allowed to believe whatever they wanted to believe, and he too was entitled to his own opinions. Not to imply that he really was expressing his opinions… that was a different story completely. But the point was that he could and should be able to think about watever he wanted to, and nobody should go around messing with that.

        _Especially_ if you had brown hair, blue eyes, a lot of money, and just happened to be walking underneath the tree that he had adopted as a chair.

        "What are you doing up there?"

        Ryuuji scowled, although the angle his face was at made it nearly impossible for Seto to see his expression. "What do you think I'm doing up here?"

        "I have a variety of explanations, but I doubt you would want to hear any of them," was the calm reply before the brunette squinted. "Shouldn't you be worried about falling and breaking your neck?"

        _Wouldn't _you_ like that?_ Ryuuji thought sourly as he finally looked down at the person who was succeeding at making his life a living hell. He didn't voice those thoughts, although a part of him wanted to, and settled instead for another jibe, "Shouldn't you be worried about your wedding arrangements?"

        "So you heard." There was an almost disgruntled tone to the statement, but Ryuuji didn't catch it. He should have… and if it had been a different situation, he probably would. But he didn't this time. In a way, he didn't really want to.

        "I heard." Pause. "Hard not to when it's plastered on every newspaper in the city and blaring on the radios and news stations."

        "It never occurred to me that you read the newspaper. Isn't that a little too intellectually stimulating for you?"

        Ryuuji gawked at him for a moment before sticking his tongue out in that highly mature way of his. Seto couldn't help but grin slightly… well, for him it was slightly. For just about everybody else, it was completely nonexistent.

        "Don't stick it out if you don't intend to use it. [1]"

        If he was expecting a reaction, he didn't get one. Ryuuji didn't even have the decency to blush and at least satisfy him that way.

        "Go away, Kaiba."

        "This is public property. I have as much right to be here as you do."

        "Then at least pretend you went away by shutting up," was the snapped reply as the raven-haired man sank back down against the tree trunk, determined to ignore the annoying young man standing below him. Except knowing Seto, the brunette was more likely to shake the tree in order to force him down than to actually be a gentleman and leave him alone for a change.

        "And why would I want to do that?"

        Even though Seto seemed as smooth and nonplussed as he usually did, his outside appearance was quite a ways from the mess inside his mind. Part of him was wondering why the _hell_ he was putting himself through this torture. As soon as he had seen the other man lounging about on that tree branch, he should have turned around and walked away. Instead, his rebellious legs had taken him closer, and his even more idiotic mouth was now engaging his… his… _something_ in an oh-so-delightful witty banter.

        He didn't really know what to call Ryuuji anymore. It used to be annoyance… pest… insignificant… words that showed how much he did not care. Or at least, words that he hoped would convince him to feel that way. But they had yet to work, which was why he was now at a loss of what to say. It was a perplexing situation, especially for Kaiba Seto, but just talking to this currently unnamed hindrance seemed to just take away all that confusion and uncertainty.

        No, he had no idea how that worked.

        Ryuuji still did not answer as he determinedly tried to ignore the situation at hand. He was starting to get good at it, as it was necessary to be able to ignore things when Honda ran through their apartment naked as he screamed at Ryuuji to help him try and find something to wear before his _big date_ with Shizuka. Despite the fact that Honda had always mocked his choice of clothing, the brunette always seemed to be very interested in whatever fashion advice he might have to offer when it came to these situations.

        "Are you coming down from there?"

        He couldn't help but roll his eyes at the interruption before closing them and giving a mock yawn. "No. Why would I want to do that?"

        "You could fall."

        The sudden show of good will immediately caused Ryuuji to perk up as he turned to look down at Seto before asking almost excitedly, "Are you afraid of heights?"

        Such a leap from an observation to an almost random question would have seemed strange to anybody, but Ryuuji had a good reason for asking. There had been something about the billionaire's voice that seemed to convey something more than what his words were trying to say. Almost like a hint of panic, although such a thing seemed completely implausible.

        And the silence that had followed his question was a big hint too.

        By this point, Ryuuji was grinning and Seto was scowling. The unexpected turn of the tables was something he did not appreciate, although it was nice to see the raven-haired man smile instead of always glaring at him while muttering under his breath. He did have such a nice smile too….

        "That's kind of strange though. Aren't all your buildings tall and your office is almost always on the top level… plus you have those helicopters and that strange jet plane that you used after Battle City [2]…."

        "Shut up."

        "Psh. It's not like I'm trying to be rude or something… poking at your weaknesses and all that." Ryuuji's tone of voice was more or less contradictory to the words that he was saying, but he ignored that discrepancy and continued, "Still, it is rather odd, don't you think?"

        "No," Seto replied flatly. This should have been the point when he just glared at Ryuuji for bringing the topic up – it was one that was not often broached, as either nobody picked up on it or he was able to glare them into submission (harder to do that when the person he should have been glaring at was sitting at the top of a high tree) – but for some reason, he found himself continuing. "I don't have a problem when I'm inside a building or an airplane or at the very least standing on something big and _solid_, but I get nervous when there's nothing around. Back at the orphanage, Mokuba fell off a tree once and he nearly broke his neck. So no. I don't like heights, and I doubt that I ever will."

        Silence. During his… confession, Seto's eyes had wandered down the length of the tree until he was staring straght ahead. If Seto had looked up at this point, he would have found himself looking into a somewhat surprised expression. Ryuuji had plenty of traits that should have been done away with a long time ago, but… well, whatever this was certainly wasn't one of them. It didn't really make a lot of sense, actually. If it had been anyone else, Ryuuji might have carried the topic on a bit further. But not with Seto. Or perhaps, it was because of what Seto had said. It was difficult to keep on talking after somebody had practically spilled his heart out to you, especially if you had a heart of your own.

        "Oh."

        Seto raised an eyebrow at that, and he waited patiently for Ryuuji to continue. But the raven-haired man didn't, allowing the two to mull in their own silence for a while.

        "So… err… congrats?" It was the first thing he could think of, anyway.

        "Thank you."

        It didn't sound like he meant it. But he hadn't really.

        "Figure out all the messy details yet?"

        "No." The way he left off more or less said that Seto wasn't quite finished talking yet, but he didn't continue as he eyed the tree for a moment with a bit of apprehension. Finally though, he shrugged off his worries and sat down at the base so that he was more or less sitting directly under Ryuuji. Neither looked at each other though, preferring to glance at the calm blue water than deal with the other person. "We've only been engaged for a day."

        "Well, some people move fast. My parents did anyway. Tousan always said it was the worst mistake of his life, and I think kaasan agreed. Maybe that's why they never got on too well. And then all that business with Yuugi's grandfather and it really just blew up. Kaasan was always one of those 'let bygones be bygones', and now I think that she always believed it was his fault anyway. Doubt that made tousan very happy though."

        He didn't even bother to think about the words he had just said. He didn't care what Seto thought, and he didn't really care about the consequences either. But it seemed like Seto was baring his soul to him, and it was almost time for him to repay the favor and do the same in return. Not that he thought Seto was actually listening, but that was a completely different story anyway.

        "We haven't figured out anything yet."

        "Oh."

        "How long did it take the others to get married?"

        "Mm… Yuugi and Anzu-chan it took several months. Jyounouchi and Mai-san didn't take as long, but they were seeing each other for a lot longer. I think they were just waiting for Jyounouchi to get out of university anyway." Ryuuji couldn't help but wonder why Seto was asking this question… couldn't figure out why Seto would care about what other people did. He always did seem like the type of person who would just do whatever he wanted, such as his goals to create Kaiba Lands for everyone to enjoy. It was a commendable goal, but the way he was getting to it….

        "Hrm."

        "Well… it all depends on what is good for you two, right? If you want to take it slow, you should. Better to piss off a few people now rather than end up screwing it all up later because you weren't patient enough. You don't want to end up like my parents, anyway." By this point, Ryuuji was starting to blabber a bit, but he didn't quite know how to shut up. "Not that I think you're going to. I mean, I'm sure you thought about it for a really long time because you don't seem like the type of person who would just rush into things without thinking it through. Unless you were drunk or something."

        The words had slipped out of his mouth before the implications sank in, and as soon as they were out Ryuuji couldn't help but flush as he settled back. He was unspeakably glad about the fact that Seto couldn't see his face right about now, and he had no intention of changing the situation so that it would be in the CEO's favor.

        "Don't worry. I wasn't," Seto replied smoothly, although something inside him said that _he wished he had been_. At the same time, he wondered how Ryuuji could have spoken the words that he had been wracking his brains over for the past few hours. How _did_ he manage to get into this situation? How had everything gotten so confused? He'd been planning on proposing to Yuriko for a while, but then along came this green-eyed idiot and suddenly all his plans were all over the place. He'd had his life so neatly structured, so perfectly planned… and now he was scrambling to get a few of the pieces back together.

        And all Ryuuji would have to do was open his mouth and he would lose every one of those pieces again.

        He couldn't help but wonder if Ryuuji was doing this on purpose. It sounded like something he would do, but that was before everything started to change.

        By change, he referred to his changing perceptions of what type of a person Ryuuji was. Truth be told, he didn't know the other man all too well before, and he wasn't sure if he knew him too well right now. Sleeping with somebody didn't necessarily mean you would know somebody else well, so it was reasonable. But then again, sleeping with somebody that you didn't really want to know didn't necessarily mean that you were _supposed_ to get to know that person or even acknowledge their existence for the rest of your life, but that was exactly what he was doing. Seto had no idea why that was, but he didn't really know how to change it either.

        "So how was America?"

        Ryuuji blinked before his face suddenly flushed a bright red as certain memories came flooding back to them. Most of those memories were disjointed – probably another effect of the alcohol that was actually welcome this time around – but there was enough of them so that he was very much embarrassed by the subject. He could hope that Seto wasn't deliberately trying to humiliate the snot out of him, but since this _was_ Kaiba Seto… well, it was hard to tell now.

        Harder than it used to be, at least.

        "It sucked," was the first thing that left Ryuuji's mouth, almost by impulse. "Everyone in management is a sycophantic numbskull, my English sucks, I had no free time, the problems they wanted me to solve were impossibly stupid, the plane trip made me sick, I got jet lag, the bartenders are mean…."

        As soon as the word 'bartender' escaped his mouth, Ryuuji's mind immediately shut down but his mouth was still shooting off. So it wasn't until it was too late that it finally caught on and came to a grinding halt, and by that point Seto was giving him an amused look. It wasn't one that he appreciated, so he reacted in the most intelligent way ever by giving him the middle finger.

        "Ouch. Do you do that to all your workers? Perhaps that's why they enjoy bothering you with such stupid problems, as you've put it."

        "I don't think my behavior changes the way nature programmed them, Kaiba."

        "I thought you were calling me Seto now? Or is that only when you're drunk?"

        Ryuuji stared at him for a moment, mouth agape, before he finally came up with something somewhat intelligent to say, "Asshole!"

        "Hrm," was the amused reply, causing him to roll his eyes as he settled back down on his perch, muttering rather sourly. They stayed like that for a moment longer before Seto looked up at him… or rather, looked at his very nice ass, but that was something nobody else was supposed to know. "Well, if it was as bad as you said, why did you go?"

        Ryuuji blinked.

        "Both of us know that any problems they might have are usually nothing big. So there really was no reason for you to go to America, was there? And in that case, why would you even bother with it?" Seto continued, his eyes never wavering from Ryuuji's _very_ fine ass. Of course, if Ryuuji had been looking at him, then he wouldn't need to stare at that… well, _that_… and then he wouldn't be having these thoughts right now. Thoughts that you certainly were not supposed to have less than twenty-four hours after you had proposed to your girlfriend.

        Luckily though, Ryuuji hadn't noticed. He was too busy hyperventilating for that.

        "It's none of your business!" Ryuuji snapped before he knew what he was saying. And by then, it was too late to do anything about it, so he just sat there looking absolutely horrified with himself. As noted before though, Seto couldn't see said horrified expression and thus had absolutely no sympathy whatsoever to his conversation partner's plight.

        Then again, he wouldn't have had any sympathy anyway.

        "It's just a question, Ryuuji. There's no need to go all _freaky psychopath_ on me," Seto replied smoothly, making sure to put a great deal of emphasis on the description. He wasn't even sure if Ryuuji would remember it – had he even remembered that Saturday night which had so pleasantly screwed up his life? – but judging from the way his face was turning red, he probably did.

        "You know, I would really appreciate it if you could just wipe all of that from your memory."

        "And why would I want to do that?" Seto smirked back.

        The repetition was becoming extremely exasperating, so Ryuuji ignored it and went back to sulking. The wind was starting to pick up a bit more, but the branch was sturdy enough to hold his weight. Considering the look on Seto's face though, the CEO obviously did not share the same convictions.

        _Ha_, his mind muttered rebelliously.

        "If you do, I'll come down."

        Seto's eyebrow raised at the sudden change in attitude, as well as the insane concept that he might actually _care_ about what Ryuuji did. Except for the fact that he did care, but he just didn't want to admit it. And he certainly did not want Ryuuji to know about it.

        "Why should I care about what you do?"

        "That wind is really starting to pick up, isn't it?" Ryuuji remarked offlandishly in reply as he looked up at the sky. It was a nice day… clear sky, no clouds in the way… and he wondered how often Seto got to experience these days rather than staying cooped up in an office all day. He didn't really seem like the type of person who would want to go outside and play catch anyway.

        Below, Seto was twitching peevishly.

        Ryuuji shrugged, "It doesn't really matter to me either way, you know."

        By this point, he was really wondering why Seto was indulging him like this – last he heard, the brunette didn't exactly have the patience to deal with these types of games, unless he was playing them himself. But so far, Seto had allowed him to do whatever he wanted, interspersing it with jabs of his own. It was interesting and quite amusing, and Ryuuji almost didn't mind playing if he could forget who he was playing with.

        But then again, the players were what made the game interesting in the first place. Seto was somebody to be cautious enough, but once you figured him out… well, that was easier said than done, but it was surprising how perceptive Ryuuji could be. He didn't always seem like the type of person, but he had to have some measure of observation skills if he was to be good at insulting other people and pointing out their faults.

        "Fine."

        The raven-haired man stared, "Fine?"

        "Fine."

        "Is that a fine-yes-come-down or a fine-stay-up-there-and-see-if-I-care?" Ryuuji inquired, emerald green eyes genuinely surprised.

        "It's more of a fine-however-you-want-to-interpret-it-is-up-to-you," Seto replied before looking up and locking eyes with him. "But just between you and me, I might be willing to compromise and forget that phone call of yours for the rest of the day."

        "The gossip columns can wait until tomorrow, right?"

        It was such a ridiculous statement. Obviously, Seto wasn't about to jeopardize his marriage in order to get some much-needed revenge on Ryuuji. But just hearing it said made the brunette laugh, and although it was one of his superiority complex laughs, it was still something.

        "Just get down here, Ryuuji." The patronizing tone did not bode well with the raven-haired man, nor was the use of his first name. And because of that, he let the words slip out of his mouth before he could even think to take them back.

        "If I jump, will you catch me?"

        Seto opened his mouth to scream '_What?!_', but by that point, Ryuuji had already thrown him a cocky grin and started to climb down the tree himself. At least it hid the fact that own brain was yammering about the exact same thing… demanding to know what the _hell_ he was talking about and why the _hell_ did he even form the words in his brain, let alone speak them.

        Still, he covered it all up with a blinding grin that would have made the sun shy away if only it had eyes.

        "That better?"

        Seto gave him a steely glare but didn't reply. Instead, he concentrated on the water, which was a bit of a shift since he had just spent all that time trying to get Ryuuji down from the tree only to ignore him now.

        Ryuuji, at least, took this all in stride. He didn't see the point of forcing unwanted conversation, and he didn't see the point in making Seto do anything. It just didn't seem very important right now. So he settled down instead, lying down on the ground with his upper body propped up by his arms, face resting on his hands as he too looked at the scenery. Although instead of looking down at the water like Seto was doing, he looked up at the sky. People always tended to look down, anyway, and Ryuuji was a rebel who had decided to start his own personal revolution by looking up instead of at the ground. It caused more accidents, certainly, but the sky was really a lot nicer looking than the cold cement ground.

        Well, except when it was an impenetrable brown due to smog and air pollution….

        Then both of them sucked and he would try not to look at either by focusing instead on the people around him. He had a feeling that because of that, his observation skills had improved and that was why he was better ay reading people than most others. Since he couldn't look down and he didn't want to look up, he looked around and began to understand people and their expressions. First the big things, like smiles and frowns, but gradually he started to see the small details that most people would miss. And applying that to daily life… well, it was amazing the things you could do with such skills.

        Seto was a little harder to read than most people, although that probably had to do with the brunette practicing cold and icy expressions for two hours everyday. At least, that's how Ryuuji thought of it, and considering just how talented Seto was at it, he might have been onto something.

        But to be serious, Seto was a difficult person to understand. He did it on purpose, no doubt, and while part of Ryuuji was highly annoyed by the fact, another part of him was quite fascinated. And as he had gotten to know the billionaire more and more, some things began to change while others remained frightfully the same. Seto was still a frosty bastard who by all means should have been put down before he had been able to communicate with the outside world, but sometimes he showed a touch of humanity that even he could not believe. Emotions such as shock and happiness were such basic emotions that Ryuuji rarely thought about it, but with Seto it resembled more of a treasure hunt. Would he or wouldn't he? Why or why not? What did he reveal now that he had been hiding before, and why would he open up in such small ways while not doing so in others? Kaiba Seto was, in short, a perplexing puzzle of pieces that did not always go together, and sometimes it seemed that there were parts that could interchange with others. It was almost like his personality depended on the time of day and the situation in place – the stubborn, emotionless façade would only be cracked by tiny changes that most could not see on their own.

        It wasn't that he needed to break that façade, or ever really come to understand the brunette. With anybody else, he might have… but in this case, it was just a fascination with somebody that he was starting to know a little bit too well. The point of observation – in his mind at least – was to figure out something about the other person before they caught on that you were looking, and also to remain as detached as possible. It had been a philosophy he had lived by for quite a long time, and now that he was starting to break it… the only thing he wanted to know was _why_ he was acting this way. Why was he suddenly changing like this, as if the small things mattered while everything else he used to care about became secondary. What was it about Seto that made him act like this, as if he was not even sure of what he wanted or had used to want.

        The adverse side effect of all of this was that the ambiguity of it all annoyed him, and that in turn made him want to annoy Seto (which was or was not detrimental to one's health, depending on your point of view). But what came out next was something he hadn't really meant to say. And he could not for the life of him figure out where it had come from.

        "You know, all you really had to say was please, and then I would have been more than happy to oblige you. If it had taken you any longer, I was worried we were going to have to figure out how to have sex on two different levels, Kaiba-kun [3]," Ryuuji sniped before he could really think through the consequences of his words. And before Seto could think through _his_ words, the short reply had escaped his lips as well.

        "In that case, you were on the wrong level."

        Silence as the two of them stared at the other person, each in complete disbelief that what had just been said was really… well, said.

        Seto especially wondered if he could somehow pay time to go back a bit so he could smack himself senseless before any of those traitorous words could escape his mouth. Sure, it would be quite a spectacle and one that would probably haunt him for the rest of his life, but how was that any different from what was happening now? Ryuuji could only watch him, a perplexed expression decorating his face, which probably matched his feelings as he tried to stare back without a trace of the emotions that he was really feeling on his face.

        Of course, some people would like to argue that he didn't _feel_ emotions.

        If this had been anybody but Seto, Ryuuji probably would have let it slide (with quite a bit of bitching and cursing, granted) because he would have known that it didn't really mean anything. Or if it did, then it was coming from someone who he felt the same way for.

        Kaiba Seto, obviously, was not that person. Or really, Ryuuji wasn't exactly sure if he was or wasn't. Which was just _really_ messed up if you asked him, and it honestly no help to the current situation at hand.

        "Why are you doing this?" The words sounded almost horrified, as if he couldn't believe any of this was happening. And he couldn't, but that was completely beyond the point.

        The brunette looked down at him, as if he was expecting Ryuuji to say something, but the raven-haired man didn't bother to look back at him. Instead, he was studiously inspecting the trees across the lake, as if it was somehow more important than what was being said. What _he_ had just said. But then again, some people did believe that interest in small, completely insignificant things always increased exponentially when it came to confronting very important matters [4]. And no matter how much both of them wanted to deny it, this was rather important.

        "Doing what?"

        It was just the kind of round-about, pointless answer that Seto had become famous for, and Ryuuji should have been prepared for it considering the contact he'd had with the brunette as well as his own habit of round-about, pointless answers, but instead of smiling painfully and thinking of revenge plans, something just snapped inside.

        "Damn it, Kaiba, we can't keep doing this forever! We can't keep dancing around the question, not with everything that is going on. Why can't you just _answer_ for a change instead of giving me so much bullshit?!"

        There was a silence after this loud demand – Seto stared at Ryuuji but Ryuuji was too busy staring at the ground to look up at him – but it was quickly dealt with when Seto replied bluntly, "Then don't ask."

        "If you hadn't done it, I wouldn't have to ask," Ryuuji snapped back, getting to his feet and jabbing a finger at Seto's chest, as he not so jokingly wondered about the consequences of if he could just have a knife at the moment.

        "It wasn't voluntary."

        "What, did I somehow _compel_ you to do it?" the game inventor raged, throwing his hands up in the air in a gesture of hopeless disbelief. "I can't believe your nerve!"

        Seto was tempted to say something else that would be promptly labeled as horrifyingly nasty, but he somehow managed to bite his tongue and prevent a case of Ryuuji trying to physically attack him. Trying, as Seto was quite a bit stronger and he wasn't about to let himself get a black eye or bruise for that matter, despite what ambivalent feelings he might have for his attacker. So in order to avoid any more pain, any more slips, and any more situations with this _person_, he stood up and turned away, "I'm leaving."

        "Go ahead! See if I care!" Ryuuji's tone seemed to implicate that he did indeed care, but it wasn't something that he was about to admit. "If you want to run away from everything that makes a dent in your perfect little world, who am I to stop you?!"

        Seto stopped, although that was only to give Ryuuji a death glare that would have sent anybody else running. Unfortunately, Ryuuji wasn't anyone else and he wasn't planning on randomly changing his status.

        "What did you say?"

        The other man gave an unpleasant snort as he rested his hands on his hips, his emerald green eyes challenging, "I wanted to know, basically, if you happen to run away from everything that you can't control."

        "Only those that are more trouble than they are worth."

        "If I'm so much god damn trouble, then why on earth are you doing any of this?!" Ryuuji's voice was incredulous, which nicely summed up both his and Seto's feelings. "If I'm not worth the time for you to be dealing with me, why do you still talk to me when it's your style to ignore problems when they come up, as if you honestly think that they'll just disappear if you don't deal with them? Why is it that you're here in the first place when all you had to do was turn around and walk away as soon as you saw me? Your arguments are very unrealistic, Kaiba, and I doubt you even know what you're talking about."

        As he had started to rant, Seto had turned away and was keeping his attention on something else. What that was, Ryuuji had no idea – but he did know that he didn't like how Seto was basically ignoring him as he demanded for an explanation. Everything he had said were things that he'd wanted to know for a long time, and for the brunette to just be pretending that _he wasn't even speaking_ was enough to infuriate just about anybody.

        But despite all of that, none of that prepared either of them for the question he asked next. It was the question that had plagued him the most, the question that he could not help but wish there was some type of _answer_ to even though he knew that there wasn't.

        "Why did you kiss me?"

        Seto immediately snapped his attention back to his companion, eyes finally revealing the surprise he had derived from the question, "What?"

        This should have been the point when he changed his words and just moved on with life, but he couldn't. Not with something like this, not with _someone_ like him.

        "Why did you kiss me?"

        Blue locked onto green as the two stared at each other, refusing to back down. Or rather, each too afraid to back down in fear of the consequences which they did not even understand.

        Why had he kissed him? But there were so many broader implications of the question… in fact, from that single sentence, it seemed like thousands more had sprung up. Why was this happening? What were the two thinking? How on earth could they have let this go on as far as it had?

        _Why_ had they let it go so long?

        And it seemed that neither of them had any answers.

        Seto, meanwhile, could only stand there wondering if Ryuuji even expected an answer. He deserved one, of course, but that had nothing to do with whether or not he actually thought he would get one or expect it. Especially considering his current behavior, it was highly doubtful that Ryuuji honestly thought he would get some type of explanation to all the questions that were being posed for the two.

        It didn't help that right now, the CEO didn't have any answers to give, even if he had wanted to answer. And right now, he wasn't sure if he did.

        But as those eyes clung onto him, unwilling to let go, he found himself replying.

        "I don't know."

        It wasn't a fake answer, or a roundabout one. It was, in short, a genuine one that he truly meant. Which in the end probably made everything worse because it just showed that he was as clueless as everyone else when it came to this game that they had been most unceremoniously dumped in.

        Currently, he was more worried about what type of reaction he was going to get. But whatever he could have conceived of, he certainly did not think that Ryuuji would smile.

        "Sou ka? [5]" The words were said so lightly, but he somehow managed to get such bitterness in – a bitterness that Seto had never really heard in his voice before. Combined, it was a living reminder or everything that had irritated and intrigued him from the start, and again, he wasn't sure if he appreciated it.

        Unfortunately, he didn't quite have time to really think about all this because Ryuuji was continuing, and he had to listen even though he really didn't want to.

        "Well, I guess you're just as lost as everyone else is right about now. Which isn't good when you think about it, but I'm sure you have and you've come up with a completely insignificant solution that will probably just end up screwing your life up a lot more. Still, I hope you figure out everything to your satisfaction. Don't get me wrong, I don't think you will. And I'm not even sure if I care one way or the other. But then again, maybe it's just nice for you to know that you've irritated someone out there enough to actually say this to you rather than letting you bowl over them with your totally condescending and just really asshole-worthy behavior."

        The billionaire couldn't help but blink and wonder if he should be saying 'thank you' at this point. It wasn't something you'd think you should say thank you too, but there were some more hidden statements in those words that he was sure he could figure out if he wasn't in such complete shock.

        So he decided the best thing to do was run away, even though he would, in the process, be proving Ryuuji right.

        There were worst things in life, he suspected as he started to walk away with green eyes boring holes into his back. He just didn't know what they were right now.

~ * ~

        "Tadaima."

        "Okaeri," Honda blinked at the haggard form that just happened to be standing in his doorway with an expression of abject confusion, as if he had absolutely no idea how he had gotten there. "Are you okay?"

        "Am I supposed to be?" Ryuuji asked back blandly after a long silence.

        "Err…" Honda couldn't figure out a good way of answering the rhetorical question in a way that wouldn't get his spine ripped out, so he settled for asking another question. "Did something happen while you were out?"

        He really did sound completely innocent – whether or not it was feigned or not was a different story – and that was basically why Ryuuji's eyebrow started to twitch visibly. From there, this should have been the point when Honda would back away and run out of the apartment screaming before Mount Ryuuji turned into a national disaster and blew up, but he never could figure out when he should stop digging a hole before the sand caved in and buried him.

        "Just a little," Ryuuji replied sarcastically as he threw himself onto the sofa across from Honda. The brunette could literally feel small trickles of sweat running down the back of his neck as he suddenly found himself being fixated with a fierce stare, and that only led to the panic that would soon prove to be his proverbial undoing.

        "Ah, well, I was expecting something like that when Kaiba came over and asked-."

        "_What?!_"

        Oops. He hadn't quite meant to say that out loud, but now that he had, he was stuck in a bind. Whatever he did from here would in all likelihood be leaving him as a victim of Ryuuji's wrath, something he should have spotted the minute Ryuuji had entered the apartment. But it was a little bit too late to be having second thoughts like these, so he could only hope that Ryuuji's hormone-induced mood would not be too harsh on him.

        "Well, he came by looking for you."

        "And you told him?!"

        "What was I supposed to do?" Honda shot back defensively, even as he knew the answer that Ryuuji was going to give. So before the raven-haired man could give it, he continued, "I know you would have preferred me to lie and say that I don't know where you went, but he would have seen through that. Besides, it might have been important! I didn't want to turn him away in case it was!"

        "You _know_ that I don't want to talk to him. That's one of the few things you do know, considering how much you think you know but really don't. It's none of his business what I do! And it's none of your business either, so you shouldn't be telling him! Just because he asks you a question doesn't necessarily mean that you have to _answer_ it. I mean, what's next? Are you going to be telling him what shampoo I use if he asks?!"

        "That sparkly stuff, right? The one that Bakura gave you…."

        "This isn't a joke!"

        Honda fixated him with a steely look. It was rare that he started to lose his temper like this – in fact, of everyone, he had one of the best tempers – and it was never pretty when he did. "I didn't say it was a joke, Otogi."

        "Then stop acting like it is," Ryuuji snapped. "If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to have a life where I don't have to be constantly worrying about the next time Kaiba is going to be popping up, and all you can do is send him my way when that's the last thing I want. I _told_ you that I wanted to be alone, and yet you still point in my direction as soon as he asks. _Why_? Why can't you just leave me alone instead of always trying to run my life for me?"

        "Well, if you knew how to run your life as well as you run your business, I wouldn't have to do these types of things now, would I?"

        "It's none of your damned business what I do or do not do. I don't care what type of fantasies you've made up in your brain, but Kaiba is not about to become a part of my life and I certainly don't want him to."

        "You can't blame that on me, you know. If you hadn't been irresponsible enough in the first place to get drunk and end up sleeping with him, none of this would have happened."

        "Are you saying that this is _my_ fault?"

        "You were the one who jumped into bed with him, Otogi. Nobody forced you to do it, and there's only so much you can blame on the drink. It's no wonder you need me to be your babysitter."

        Honda knew he was crossing the line, but Ryuuji had crossed it a long time ago and he was getting rather fed up with it. For the past several weeks, it had been nothing but whine, complain, whine, complain. Even though Ryuuji didn't like it, he felt responsible for the guy, and watching him act like this had been no easy walk in the park. If he kept acting like this, he would no doubt eventually end up in a situation that was worse than the one he was currently in, as unbelievable as it sounded.

        "I never asked you to be my babysitter. Did you ever hear me say, at any time, that I wanted you to be my babysitter? It's not my problem what you choose to hallucinate, so don't go pinning your problems down on me!"

        "And what have you been doing, exactly? There are other people living in this apartment, and maybe they're under the impression that you need to get a push so that we can avoid spending the rest of our lives watching you mope around and throw temper tantrums. I mean, if you're not going to do anything about it, somebody might as well try before you tear down this entire apartment with your _screaming_."

        "And why the _hell_ is it your problem to deal with? It's my life, not yours, and if I decide that I want to screw it up, I think I should at least be allowed that option."

        Honda raised an eyebrow before stating calmly, "I'm not going to stand around and let you screw up your life, Otogi. Even if that is what you want."

        "No, you're just going to help contribute to it, aren't you? He's _engaged_, for god's sake. He's engaged, and he did it after we had our pleasant bout of hot monkey sex, so you might as well give it up if you think that it's going to get anywhere because it _isn't_! And I would appreciate it if you could just keep out of it instead of making it worse."

        There was a silence as Honda stared at him in disbelief, "Do you really believe any of that bullshit you just sprouted?"

        He knew he was lying before he even spoke the words with such coldness that even Kaiba Seto would have been proud of him (although he really didn't want to be thinking about Seto right now), "It's not bullshit."

        "Yes it is."

        "_No_, it isn't."

        "Yes it is," Honda insisted with the same amount of conviction he'd had from the very beginning. "It's bullshit and you know it."

        "Stop telling me what I know and what I don't!"

        It wasn't really anything new – Ryuuji had said it before, in a variety of circumstances. But this was probably the first time that Honda had no doubt about exactly how much he meant every single word of it, and the anger and an almost painful tone that he wasn't really ready for.

        Still, knowing that didn't stop him from saying what he felt needed to be said.

        "Somebody has to tell you since you're obviously not acknowledging it on your own."

        "Fuck you!"

        "What did you say?!"

        "I doubt you've suddenly developed hearing problems in the past two seconds!"

        Honda looked about red enough to explode. He was really quite tired of dealing with all this, and it wasn't like he could just _make_ Ryuuji listen to him when Ryuuji wanted nothing more than to be a stubborn ass that was a thorn in everybody's side. So he turned away to glare at the wall which couldn't glare back.

        "Fine! Go ahead and mess up your life! See if I care!"

        "Fine! I will!_"_

"Fine!"

        "_Fine!"_

        And with that final scream which had the neighbors all scratching their heads in confusion, Ryuuji turned around, walked back to the door, and slammed it shut on his way out. Honda could still hear him stomping as he made his way to the stairs, and it was only after several moments had passed that he finally sank back into his chair, his back finally releasing the tension it had stored been during the argument.

        Running a hand through his hair, he looked up at the clock and sighed.

        It had only been fifteen minutes since Ryuuji had walked in.

~ * ~

        _Why did you kiss me?_

        Seto frowned as he tapped his fingers against the desk, trying to concentrate on the data spreadsheet on the screen before him. He was finding it difficult though, especially as Ryuuji's words kept running through his mind over and over again.

        If I'm so much goddamn trouble, then why on earth are you doing any of this?! If I'm not worth the time for you to be dealing with me, why do you still talk to me when it's your style to ignore problems when they come up, as if you honestly think that they'll just disappear if you don't deal with them? Why is it that you're here in the first place when all you had to do was turn around and walk away as soon as you saw me? Your arguments are very unrealistic, Kaiba, and I doubt you even know what you're talking about.

        Leave me alone! he wanted to scream, but since he was Kaiba Seto and Kaiba Seto was supposed to always be in control, he narrowed his eyes and just glared at the numbers and words, refusing to give in to the hysterics that were threatening to overwhelm him. The only problem was that they were jumbling together into one incomprehensible mess, and now he had no idea what he was trying to read.

        Trying to ignore all his doubts, he stopped his impatient tapping in order to start tying rapidly on the keyboard. It soon became evident to him that he didn't know what he was typing, and that his body was on autopilot as his mind was starting to spin out of control.

        He was going to crash soon, and he didn't know how to prevent it.

        _Why did you kiss me?_

        Why had he? Why had he done such a stupid, stupid thing even when he knew the consequences? Well, not _know_ specifically every detail of what would occur, but understood enough to have a guess at what could happen. And those things that _could_ happen had scared him so much more than anything else, yet he still allowed it to happen.

        Why?

        _Why_?

        What was it about those green eyes that kept him so fixated? The annoying grin, the way his voice would grow so high-pitched when he was angry, the expressions that slipped onto his face even when he was trying not to let them?

        Sometimes, he saw himself in the other man, and yet he didn't. He saw things he hated and things he loved, and suddenly all his needs had been so obviously created into somebody when he had never noticed these things in anyone else.

        It was just that Otogi Ryuuji was so damn _human_ that he found himself obsessed. So like him and yet not. And if he allowed himself the truth, he knew that it was something that would never go away, as if it was a mark that bled all the way through his body and could never be cut away.

_        If I jump, will you catch me?_

        Cocky bastard, he found himself muttering to himself even as he let his face to split into an almost crazed and bitter smile. Cocky. That described Ryuuji to a tee, and the question too. The question that, as soon as the words had run through his mind again, he had finally instinctively figured out the answer to.

        He'd have to face this, sooner or later. And it unfortunately looked like it was going to be coming a lot sooner than he had wanted it to. He'd proposed (in a way) to Yuriko in a desperate attempt to get rid of these thoughts, but obviously it had not worked.

        Not that it had really surprised him, though.

        There was really nothing more than to deal with it unless he wanted it to consume the rest of his life. The sooner the better. And harder, but that was a different story [6].

        Clicking on exit without bothering to save the document, Seto pulled up his e-mail box again. He doubted anybody would be happy because of his decision, himself included. But it was the right one, wasn't in?

        Wasn't it?

        It all depended on your definition of right, at least. He had a feeling that nobody would agree with him except himself, but he just knew that this was the right thing to do. He rarely doubted himself and he didn't really want to start doing it now, so he set his jaw and pushed all those disparaging thoughts into the box that he eventually locked them in.

        He didn't want to do this, but he needed to. He needed to if he was ever going to be able to face himself again, although he seriously doubted if it was really that serious.

        The smile was still gracing his lips, and he allowed it to break in order to laugh to himself. He wasn't a romantic, and he never was. Yet if one inspected his words and actions with a microscope, they might just claim that… well, maybe he was at heart. Or maybe everyone was, no matter how hard one tried to push those troublesome emotions away. It was hard to be by yourself for your entire life, and the lack of somebody who would love him no matter what happened was starting to trouble him (although he did not want to admit it). It wasn't that Mokuba had ever _stopped_ loving him, but he was away at university so it was just different being alone. Was that why he was starting to reach out?

        Yuriko was supposed to be the solution to his problems, a neat little package he could gift-wrap and tuck away until he needed it. She didn't seem to mind, but it hadn't really been enough for him. Which wasn't exactly something he liked, but it wasn't like he could just change it. You had to give a little to get something, although for him it seemed like he was giving a lot to get something that he didn't understand.

        Or something he deliberately tried not to understand.

        As he drifted into that state where fingers typed on their own accord and the mind settled on different things, his smile softened slightly.

        Yes. Yes, he would.

        He would, in fact, be down there with his arms spread open. Waiting.

        Waiting for the answer to fall into his arms even as he knew that getting there would be a trip to hell and back.

~ * ~

        And across town, Ryuuji threw himself onto the bed of the rented hotel room and tried to forget what had just happened in order to get some sleep.

        Shutting his eyes, he could picture perfectly the water that had been so calm throughout the entire day.

        It was the same color as his eyes.

Commentary:

[1] *cough-hack* Nalan-san….

[2] Volume 31. After Battle City, Seto doesn't return to Domino City with the others but blasts off in a little airplane because he's off to America to build his Kaiba Land.

[3] *sing-song voice* Blame Ninetails-chan! Oy, NBCC! She's stolen your theme song! *snigger*

[4] Not directly quoted, but this was a sort of paraphrase from Oscar Wilde's _The Picture of Dorian Grey_ (not that I agree with his theory on art though. X.x).

[5] Is that so?

[6] *silence* Sick mind. *sticks tongue out at everyone*

        If you've been reading my livejournal, you probably know how much trouble this chapter has caused me, somewhere between worries that everything was happening too quickly to rants about the length (at nine pages, this story is close to a tenth of what has been written. ~.~). Still, be grateful that I didn't add a tedious Ryuuji-introspection at the end! Not that I would have… I have enough trouble on my hands, like trying to figure out exactly _how_ this chapter could have ended up so long.

        Nine bloody pages! *whimper*

        Haha, well, I guess this makes up for all the short chapters before, right? P

        *checks the outline* As for the next chapter, I think it should be up on time. Urgh. Hopefully… the major scene might be a bit of a challenge for me to write right now in my diminished mental state (blame the economics! Blame the economics!).

        Oh, and in case you were wondering, there are four chapters to go. ^~ Unless I end up cutting or adding stuff again. Which I won't. Or at least, I better not…. *mutter*

PM


	12. Shazai

Painted Sky

      Urgh. @_@ It's 11:59 which basically says that these author notes are not going to be very intelligent. Not to imply that they ever were, of course, but that's a completely different matter (speaking of which, it is now 12:00 in the morning). So, anyhow, not much to say – as usual – except that this chapter takes place on Sunday.

Thanks to the rayemars-san, and to the readers!

Mercedes no Inuarai ~ ^.^ Well, when I write, I usually have to ask myself if I can see the characters doing whatever I'm writing about. If I can't visualize them doing the actions or saying the words, then I go back and rework things. And you're probably right about the grammar error… -_-;; I'm such a scatterbrain.

MarmaladeGirl ~ Eh, don't worry about it. You review a lot more consistently than I do anyway! Which scene in Demon Diary is this? I just remember the part when they're cuddling each other and then Chris ruins the scene! My friend and I were going, 'ARGH! Stupid boy!' XD

Feirdra ~ Well, I like to think that Seto is… kind of becoming a little more open to the idea of having lots and lots of sex with Ryuuji. Of course, who wouldn't?! *ducks* I promise not to drag it out too many chapters though. *wink* And if you write that Seto/Ryuuji fic, I'll be a very happy PM! I will stalk you! Yes I will! *cackles*

Anime Girl Sasami ~ I'm going to have to catch up with you again sometime soon… I don't think I'll ever be able to answer to all your comments in these two reviews. *is somewhat traumatized* Anywho, in reference to the relationship between Yuriko and Seto, I kinda think that they would have been happy together. Well, not happy, par say – but they would have been able to live with it. They would have been satisfied with what they had. Unfortunately, once Ryuuji was discovered, it's impossible for Seto to remain satisfied with a person who he has no emotional spark with. He could, but that little seed of doubt would always be there. Oh, and Honda! Well, for me, characters who aren't of the two main characters, their purpose really is just to move the story forward. Some of them are for entertainment, but most of them are to just get the relationship moving. Kinda like how Jyounouchi and Yami no Yuugi both were pushing (or pulling) Ryou in "Fairydust" and LTOW. ^~ That's always been my view on it, at least. And for the compensate thing… I was actually thinking about it too. I didn't, but I did think about it! XD

Dead Insomniac ~ Don't be so bitter… it's not Seto's fault that he's a bit of an idiot. *gets slapped by Kaiba* O.O;; He's very mad at me right now, you see. And there aren't that many SetoxRyuuji stories out there anyway, although I can recommend one by… argh, what was that fic again? Anonymity by Chevara Lowe, I think. Oh, I'm afraid I might not have spelled that right. The title should be right though. That's the story that really helped inspire me into writing this coupling… and trying to brainwash everyone else into it. ^~

motivateme129 ~ XD Hey, 11 chapters isn't bad. Besides, by not reviewing, you didn't have to deal with my random rantings and ravings in my thank you's, which I am afraid you will have to suffer through this time. And practice makes perfect! I've been at this for nearly four years, so none of this happened overnight. To be a bit cliché, I spend a lot of time thinking about writing. A LOT. I spend random moments during class thinking about how I can write a scene or start it, and how I will do one thing or another, and so on. It's creepy, really!

Lady Shriannan Santrea ~ XD Yes, the sparkly shampoo is from "Fairydust". I thought of it while I was in the shower. -_-;; And thanks about UCLA! I think my parents were happier than I am! ^~

Cairnsy ~ Like, oh my god! I think that Seto x Yami is the coolest too! Just the bondage involved with Yami being a total prostitute and Seto being a total prick. Like, seriously! And Yami looks sooooo good with that dice earring. I wonder why he doesn't get some eyebrow piercings! And like, I mean, you know? XD

dragonlady1220 (AKA Liz16 ~ XD Sorry it took so long… but I have this odd interest in getting this story to 100 pages. I'm only on page 80 right now so it's pretty unlikely (thank god!), but the 100 page mark is looming out there. Glad you're enjoying this!

~ Shazai (Apology) ~

        Apologies are the hardest things to make.

        It probably has to do with the fact that by apologizing, one is essentially admitting that they were wrong while the person being apologized to was right, and that's never something one wants to acknowledge. This is especially true if your name is Otogi Ryuuji because it also means that you just so happen to be an arrogant prick who always thinks you're right but now has to admit that _possibly_ your every word and action is not absolute truth.

        All of this was precisely why the event that was to take place was the basic equivalent to the Academy Awards in that it took place once a year, was often times completely unpredictable, and was a complete pain in the ass for all the poor buggers who lost and now got the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to listen to everyone else gloat, oh _joy_.

        To put it lightly, it wasn't the funnest thing to do, and Ryuuji didn't look forward to it at all.

        Unfortunately, Ryuuji had always found it difficult to apologize even though it was clearly the right thing to do. Despite that, any show of a real or imagined weakness was enough to drive him up the wall, and apologies seemed to be a prime example of such revelations. And it certainly didn't help that half the time, the only reason why he had gotten upset enough to go into hysterics was because he had lost control of the situation in the first place.

        That was, more or less, what had led him to this situation. It had mostly been Seto's fault (technically, Ryuuji _knew_ that he shouldn't be blaming other people but still could not resist doing otherwise), and Honda had really just reinforced those awkward feelings of self-hatred. But since Seto was a force to be reckoned with while Honda was… well, _Honda_, Ryuuji had found it quite appealing at the time to take out all his anger on his roommate. Which, now that he looked back at it, was probably not as good an idea as it had seemed because if he had just kept his mouth shut, none of this would have happened. And if none of this had happened, he wouldn't have to be here wondering exactly what he was going to say when the door opened that _wouldn't_ sound completely pathetic.

        Since he was having trouble figuring out _anything_, he stood there for quite a while pondering his predicament. He was lucky that the pigeons hadn't mistaken him for a statue yet considering how much time he was taking, but this wasn't exactly the easiest thing in the world to do. For him, it was the most difficult, as mentioned before [1].

        There was always, of course, the option of ignoring all of this and returning to the hotel room in order to wait for Honda to crawl over to him and beg for forgiveness. The problem with this lovely possibility was that first of all, Honda wasn't about to check every hotel in Domino City to find a runaway roommate, due to the fact that he probably wouldn't be apologizing in the first place. Then there was always the fact that Ryuuji didn't exactly want to stay in a rented room for the rest of eternity, and besides… he wanted to change clothes.

        So there was really nothing else to do but try and think of something nice to say, except he was having a lot of trouble doing just that.

        He was still thinking when the door suddenly opened, although that had nothing to do with any psychic powers on Honda's behalf. In fact, the only reason why the brunette had opened the door was because he had promised to meet Ryou and his boyfriend, as well as the fact that he needed to get some groceries. Thus, he was completely unprepared for the raven-haired man standing there, and nearly ended up walking right into him.

        For a moment, the two just stared at each other. Honda was waiting for something to be said, and Ryuuji was still trying to figure out how to say it. This essentially meant that the two were in a deadlock, and they would be until somebody said something.

        Ryuuji knew that Honda fully expected him to be that somebody, so he wracked his brains for something to say. And as soon as his mind got one, it clung on and refused to let go until he said it out loud.

        "Hi."

~ * ~

_        "Hi."_

_        Yuriko had been surprised to see him standing on her doorstep, and he himself was wondering how he had ended up there in the first place. But he shrugged off all his doubts and responded simply, "I just came to see how you were liking the place."_

_        "Oh… it's really nice. Thanks," Yuriko looked sheepish. She had been meaning to call him, but had just been so busy with moving in and taking care of work that she just hadn't had time. Also, she couldn't help but feel like she had been putting it off, as if there was something about the brunette that she wasn't sure she wanted to get involved with. But now that he was here, she could only wonder if she had just been silly. "I'm sorry I wasn't able to call you… I've just been so busy."_

_        "It's fine."_

_        It's fine. Of course it's fine. It was always fine with Kaiba Seto as long as you didn't deliberately do anything to piss him off, and even then it wasn't always certain he would be affected by it. It sometimes seemed like you could either piss him off or never be acknowledged, and she had always wondered if it was even possible to discover a compromise point._

_        She fidgeted slightly, wondering why she was feeling so nervous when he had been the first person she had seeked help from when she had moved here, "So… do you want to come in?"_

_        He looked at her for a moment, as if he was trying to place her but couldn't quite figure out how. "No."_

_        She couldn't help but wince slightly, although she doubted that he would notice. He always had been blunt, and while observant about certain aspects like manipulation and cunning, he never did seem to pick up on those small things that made people… human._

_        So for the longest time, the two just blinked at each other, waiting for something to be said. Waiting for anything to be said, although it was preferable that the something and anything would substantial. Necessary. No need mincing words or dancing in circles – just get to the point and get it over with._

_        "I have tickets to the play. Do you want to come?"_

_        She blinked. That had been unexpected._

_        "Oh… err… you mean right now?" she felt flustered – it was so sudden, even though she might have admitted to herself that she had been expecting it. Somehow._

_        "Yes."_

_        How _could_ he be so _calm_ all the time?_

        "Oh… okay. I'll go get my stuff. Are you sure you don't want to come in while you wait?"

        "It's fine."

        It was _always_ fine. Always. It never changed, as if everything that happened just happened and there was no reason to be concerned. It drove her positively mad sometimes, but eventually she'd decided that it was just one of those odd quirks of his and that she had to get used to it someday.

        Had to being the word to look out for. Part of her wondered about that 'had to', as if it wasn't really something apparent to the rest of the world but merely a restriction she had placed on herself out of plain stupidity.

        Sometimes, she wondered what would have happened if she had said no. The question came up so many times, and the opportunities for her to say that single word came up too. It was odd that she should be wondering about these things when every single time she had said _yes_, but you just have to stop and think about those types of things.

        It seemed to her that for the majority of the time, their relationship had never changed from that first 'date'. There hadn't really been much intimacy, much need to reveal souls and "wear your heart out on your sleeve", or whatever that phrase was supposed to be. She'd never really understood it because if you were really stupid enough to do such a thing, wouldn't that just inevitably end up with you getting hurt?

        It wasn't that she was cynical, of course. Just… practical. Practical enough to know that she really shouldn't say no when Kaiba Seto asked her out, practical enough to see something but not comment on it when the look on his face obviously said he didn't want to talk about it, practical enough that she said yes when he asked her to marry him. Except he hadn't really asked, so it was always possible that she could have been saying yes to anything, including volunteering to be the next human sacrifice at the Kaiba Corporation luncheon. Only there were no luncheons. Seto had never found them productive and only a waste of time.

        She wasn't unhappy, or anything of the sort. But at the same time, she wasn't quite sure if she could confess that she was happy, and that was the problem. Yuriko knew, of course, that there wasn't a handbook out there that said you _had_ to be happy in life, especially considering how a lot of people spent a vast majority of their lives being downright miserable.

        Marriage… it didn't really seem to be any big deal. The only difference she could possibly see from their current relationship was that she would be living with him, have to change her last name, and hopefully get more tax breaks. She didn't see children although she supposed that such things were inevitable, and she didn't really see romantic dinners next to the fireplace. With Seto, she didn't really see any of those things that she might have imagined once upon a time, and in a way, it frightened her.

        Which was strange since the CEO was the epitome of steady balance, and she really shouldn't be worried. But something had been changing with him over the past couple of weeks, and she had a feeling that it had something to do with the night that he didn't want to talk to her, as well as the night when….

        Her thoughts drifted off there in order to make lazy flip-flops in the air, and she watched them blearily as she tried to sort the pieces out together. There was something different about him, although she couldn't quite place her finger on what that change was. He was just no longer as calm and collected as he would like her to believe, and from that she knew that things really couldn't be the same again.

        Blinking once, she reached over the piles of books and paper in order to pick up the small ring box, pausing only to look at a framed picture of Seto and herself on a date. It was one of the few pictures she had, and it was essentially the only picture where he was smiling.

        She still didn't even know what had caused him to do that.

        Opening the velvet box, she stared at the ring within. It turned out she had been mistaken – it was white gold, not silver, although she could never figure out the bloody difference when it came to looks. The only difference she could figure out, in fact, was placement on the periodic table and price tag.

        Or something like that.

        It was like their relationship, honestly. She couldn't figure out how it was much different from being 'single' besides the newspaper articles, and that in itself was pretty disturbing.

        She wasn't really regretting her decision – there wasn't really anything to regret about it. But at the same time, it didn't really seem to be the _right_ one, and she was having trouble figuring out why that was exactly. Was it something about her, or did it have to do with that _change_ Seto had undergone? She really couldn't be sure anymore.

        Sighing, she decided to set aside all her doubts for now. Seto had sounded pretty urgent in the e-mail, although she wasn't quire sure how urgent an e-mail could ever sound. Kinda like Seto, how he could be emotional but you couldn't really tell just by looking at him. 

        Snapping the box shut before placing it in her bag, she stood up and got ready to leave.

~ * ~

        _Hi?_

        Honda couldn't help but blink at Ryuuji's apparent loss for words, so he leaned back against the doorframe and crossed his arms. He decided that it would be best to stare at the other man, if only because he was still having problems believing that Ryuuji was really there and capable of being… humble. Well, Honda was going to assume that the game inventor was going to be humble at least – he couldn't be sure, but usually when Ryuuji came along with such a subdued tone, it meant he was going to apologize. And Ryuuji sure as hell wasn't the apologizing sort, which always made it somewhat entertaining.

        At least, it would have been entertaining if Honda was in a sadistic mood. Which he wasn't, luckily for Ryuuji.

        "Hi to you too. What are you doing here?"

        For a moment, Ryuuji looked completely taken back by Honda's bluntness, and he might have winced from the fact that Honda was probably still a little pissed at him (a little?!) if he wasn't too busy glaring at the brunette. "I live here too, you know."

        "I know that. I was just wondering why you didn't come in on your own. I happen to know for a fact that you haven't lost your keys or you wouldn't have been able to get into the building, and your wrists still look like they're in one piece. And it's not like I changed the locks or anything, although I have to admit that the idea was rather tempting at the time."

        "I… err…" Ryuuji stuttered blankly – which was pretty worthy of attention on its own – before he hastily and wisely decided to change the topic. "Were you going someplace?"

        "I was going to meet Bakura and Yasuo [2] before getting some more groceries. We're running out of food."

        The raven-haired man blinked, trying to absorb and process this new piece of information. It was a bit more difficult than it looked since he was running on little sleep – a combination of still-persistent jet lag [3] and stress, no doubt – and other things he couldn't name at the moment but fully intended on blaming once he could figure out exactly what the hell they were.

        It took him a while to figure out exactly who Yasuo was, but he attributed that to the fact that whenever the small group thought of Ryou's boyfriend, they tended to call him… well, Ryou's boyfriend. It was almost as if they were all perpetually amazed that somebody could have ended up with Ryou despite the fact that Yami no Bakura was happily occupied with carting the pharaoh around and embarrassing the snot out of him, making it easier for Ryou to have some semblance of a social life. Yasuo, anyway, took it all with such grace that Ryuuji had often wanted to pry open his head and try to figure out what alien was living in his body. That man was weird, but then again, one had to be weird in order to fit in with them. In fact, of everyone, Honda was probably the most normal person. He wasn't dead and he hadn't died before. He'd never had a psychotic father who had either tried to use him for revenge, committed suicide, or been killed by a psychotic embodiment of his hate and anger. He wasn't in love with a spirit and he wasn't possessed. He was just… sometimes, it didn't really seem like he fit in, like he was of a completely different world and had simply stumbled in by accident. Strange thoughts to have when you've been _living_ with the guy since college, but they had always been there.

        But at the same time, Honda had always kept him from going off the deep end. Perhaps it was because he _was_ stable, and that allowed him to bring about a sense of normality to everyone else. It proved, perhaps, that you didn't have to be completely psychotic to be involved with psychotic people, and that he could somehow change them all for the better.

        It was a big task for one person, so maybe that was why he had chosen to do one at a time. Which was good because Ryuuji needed all the attention he could get.

        "I… see."

        An uncomfortable silence as the two stared at each other, Ryuuji resisting the urge to fidget. He didn't know why Honda's stares could make him feel so childish, unless it had something to do with the babysitter comments. A little voice in his head mumbled rebelliously that he _wasn't_ a baby and that he didn't need somebody to take care of him.

        Or something like that.

        "Do you?" Honda asked a tad callously, the words punctuated by a raised eyebrow. Ryuuji couldn't help but grimace at that, and his mouth was moving before his brain could start thinking.

        "What do you think?"

        "Playing games isn't going to get you anywhere this time, Otogi. I doubt that it worked with Kaiba, and I've lived with you too long to let it work with me either."

        Well. Honda certainly was being straight-forward today. Although he had been pretty damn straight-forward yesterday too. Not that it really made a difference anyway… did it? He wasn't sure anymore, wasn't sure of much at all.

        He wasn't even sure what he was talking about.

        So finally, he decided that the best course of action would be to do what he came here to do. It would let him change the topic, at least, although he had a sneaking suspicion that Honda would see through his little charade and steer them right back to where they'd started from.

        "I'm sorry."

        Honda stared at him for a moment [4], and Ryuuji really had to resist the urge to make a comment about what a great father Honda would make with an expression like that. He always had wondered why Honda hadn't married Shizuka yet, considering how long they've been together. He was sure the brunette had a reason, but he sure wasn't about to ask him what that reason was. Despite what some people thought, Ryuuji did have a pretty good notion of when to stop, especially when death was involved.

        "I'm not trying to hurt you, you know. I'm just trying to make you figure out what you're doing," Honda said slowly. Ryuuji opened his mouth to interject, but Honda interrupted him. "And before you jump down my throat saying that you don't need that type of help, it doesn't change the fact that you're going into hysterics over what's been happening. I can't tell if you do know what's going on or not; sometimes it seems to me like you know but you don't care, and then you seem to be completely clueless. I don't know if this just means that you don't know what you want either, but either way, you should figure it out soon before you let it take over your life."

        "I don't need you to shove me, Honda."

        "I never said that I wanted to shove you. But you need it because if you don't do something soon, you're going to keep obsessing over it. You've already run off to America, you've already walked out on our friends, you've already walked out on me. If you keep at it, there's going to be no one left for you to walk out on, and then you're really going to be in trouble."

        Ryuuji couldn't help but stare at him blankly, "Since when did you become so insightful?"

        "I've had a little while to think about it."

        "Is that all?" the raven-haired man replied finally. It was really hard to tell whether or not he was being sarcastic or not, and even Ryuuji felt like he couldn't be sure about his own intentions anymore.

        "I have an extreme urge to kick you out right about now."

        "I pay half the rent, remember?"

        "Yes, I think we've already established that," Honda responded before giving Ryuuji the _look_ that always made him want to break down. "Otogi, just make this easy on yourself and answer this question so you can at least try to get on with your life. What do you want?"

        He opened his mouth to say that it didn't matter what he wanted because he wasn't going to be able to affect Seto's whims anyway, but something inside of him made him stop before he could even start to form the words. How could he, of all people, be acting like this? It was so odd, especially when he thought about those things his mother would tell him day after day while she was still alive. Don't worry about what you cannot do – if you don't try, then of course you never can. If you think you'll fail before you try, then the only thing you will do is fail, if only to prove that you were correct. Of course, thinking positively didn't automatically mean that you would succeed, but it was better than nothing. It was better than not doing anything and expecting everything to be handed to you on a silver platter, and it was much better than waiting for Seto to come to him because that was probably never going to happen anyway.

        But what did he want? Did he really want something with Seto, or was that just a fantasy that would eventually go away? It had been an accident, yet all of this was happening suddenly. Why did he care so much about this person when they did nothing except try and annoy each other? Yet somehow, beyond all those cracks and insults, he had discovered somebody that he honestly thought he could care for, and somebody who could do the same for him if either would just let himself _do so_.

        He didn't understand why, but he didn't really need to. It was just instinctive, which in general made him think that he was really, really losing it.

        _Actually, you lost it quite a while ago._

        He wanted to laugh, right then and there, and he was lucky that he didn't suddenly start crying helplessly as his thoughts happily shut down and left him with nothing to hide himself with. And somehow… _somehow_… he managed to get out those words that just needed to be said so badly.

        "I think I love him."

        Honda's jaw dropped, and Ryuuji's probably would have also if it wasn't for the fact that his mouth was too busy talking to take the time out to drop. "That would explain a lot, right? Although I don't really know what I want to do now that I know that, and I don't know how that's going to change anything. Even if I admit it, it doesn't mean he feels the same way, right?"

        The smile on his face had become somewhat bitter, and it seemed to the brunette that Ryuuji was talking to himself more than anything. "Of course, I shouldn't love him. I know that better than anybody. If somebody was to ask me anything about him, I probably wouldn't be able to answer. I barely _know _him, and I certainly don't know why I love him. I'm still hoping that all of this is coming from a nasty bump on the head, but I don't remember being hit recently. Which is a shame… I'd love to have something to blame this on. But I guess we can't always have what we want, right? And I probably won't since he's engaged and I'm just that… what did he say again, somebody who is more trouble than he is worth? Well, something like that. Whether or not he believes it doesn't really matter. I still love him. I just don't know what to do about it now."

        Honda eyed him, noting how Ryuuji didn't even look at him but instead remained fixated on the scenery, as if that held all the answers to his problems. There was so much going on, and it seemed doubtful that everything would get answered to anyone's satisfaction. But you took what you could get and tried to be happy with it, even though it was inevitable that you probably wouldn't be. It was those lucky people who did manage to find that happiness who were satisfied with life… and they weren't as rare as they would seem.

        Knowing who you were, knowing what you wanted… it was one of the first steps to accepting life and all its pitfalls. Accepting it too, of course, but first you had to _know_. You couldn't accept anything if you didn't know what to accept, and so all these days, Honda had been trying to get Ryuuji to see that. He was surprised that Ryuuji hadn't seen it earlier, on his own, but love could make one do pretty odd things.

        He should know, after all.

        Running a hand through his hair, he sighed as he thought of what to say next. Ryuuji had satisfied his questions – to a certain extent anyway – and he supposed he should try to make it a little easier on the raven-haired man. It was, after all, something Ryuuji really needed, especially at a time like this.

        "I forgive you."

        Ryuuji blinked slowly, obviously startled by the sudden statement but simply too confounded to be able to react strongly. "What?"

        "I said I forgive you."

        There was an awkward silence as the two stared at each other, but Ryuuji quickly shattered it when he sullenly said, "No you don't."

        Honda finally grinned – a gesture that seemed relaxed and just so _reassuring_ – as he leaned over to pat his friend on the back, "I know I don't. But I also know that you want me to, so I'm willing to pretend that I do."

        For your sake.

~ * ~

        Takashi Yuriko hadn't really known what to expect when she arrived at the designated meeting spot, but what she definitely hadn't expected was for Kaiba Seto to – without even taking the time for pleasantries or even a damn _'hi'_ – walk right up to her and say, "It's over."

        It might have just been her and the rest of the world, but that really just wasn't the best way to start a conversation.

        And when she later thought about it, slapping him in the face probably wasn't the best way of responding either, although it was the first thing her mind latched onto. Actually, she had really wanted to punch him, except the only thing that would have happened was that she would probably hurt her hand and she figured she'd be getting enough grief without causing herself physical harm too. So she settled for slapping him, which proved to be insanely gratifying even if it might not have been politically correct. Which was weird, because a part of her had almost expected this. There had to be a reason why he changed, and she had noticed it. Of course, she had ignored it because who wouldn't ignore something like that when they were being proposed to? Her mind had preferred to pretend that the 'change' had only been temporary, rather than something that could ever come back to affect her.

        It was a little too late to be rethinking that though, wasn't it?

        Seto didn't flinch, didn't say anything. He also chose to ignore the throngs of people who were standing around them staring and muttering about what had just happened because only one person mattered right now and that person was standing in front of her. He looked at her, almost as if he was discovering her for the first time, and took in every single detail like a person who was meeting her for the first time. The light brown hair was carefully pulled back into a ponytail so that it wouldn't fall into her dark blue eyes – which depending on the angle could almost become black. Such a contrast from that certain other person who he was doing this for, although common sense said that he shouldn't be.

        But what was common sense anyway? It was pretty useless at times anyway, and he wasn't going to live his life being dictated by _common sense_. Besides, some people said it didn't exist anyway, and was mostly an illusion of society's directions and forced upon every drone living within its clutches. He'd dealt with that long enough, and dealt with it enough to already hurt _her_. And she was hurt, and he shouldn't have expected otherwise, because he had risen her expectations only to crush them now with those two words.

        He shouldn't have been so blunt, but it was a part of his personality and he didn't really know how to change it. He'd never learned to soften his words unless he really concentrated, and when he saw her approaching he just blurted out the first two words that came to his head. The ones that he should have said a long time ago but didn't, and now were saying when it might already be too late.

        Now… what was he supposed to do now? Was he supposed to comfort her? That seemed a better option than just standing there watching her shake, but he didn't know if she would appreciate any 'comfort' he might have to offer. Besides, what would he say? Sorry, but it's just not working? Sorry, I know I shouldn't have asked you in the first place but I was trying to get rid of someone? Sorry, I just don't love you in that way and I don't think I ever did?

        None of it seemed to be very… right.

        He could have walked away of course, and he might have at a different time. But right now, watching her, he just stood there rooted to the spot. There had been too much walking away, too much escaping of the situation, too much of all of that which had inevitably led him here. It had been the only way he knew how to deal with things, but now he was being forced to confront everything that he'd tried to avoid. Those carefully laid pieces that he knew how to weave about had all been knocked out of place by a single person, and now he just found himself smacking into them as he tried to stumble through what had once been so easy to maneuver through.

        He'd meant all of that metaphorically, but that slap sure as hell had felt real.

        Well, at least she hadn't tried to knock him out. Not that she would be able to, but at least she hadn't _tried_. He might have, if he was in her position. Quite luckily for himself, he wasn't.

        "I can't believe this." Her voice was becoming remarkably shrill as she looked down at the ground, he noted with some surprise. He'd have thought that Ryuuji had some type of patent on that little ability, but apparently he was being proven wrong at the moment. "I can't believe that you would _do_ something like this after two days. _Two days._ Okay, so maybe I suspected _something_ was up but nothing that came along the lines of 'will you marry me' followed by 'it's over' in less than a week?! Granted, you didn't even _say_ those words so I _should_ have known just by that but I decided to be stupid and _pretend_ that it would be all right at the end. Except it's not, is it?!"

        He wondered if he was supposed to be responding to that, and settled finally for trying to reach out to her and give some pathetic form of sympathy, "Yuriko…"

        Quickly though, he pulled back. She obviously did not want to have any contact with him right now, although she did like him at an arm's length so she could _screech_ without being worried about getting sued.

        "I'm sorry."

        She couldn't help but laugh at that, "Well, that's _really_ reassuring. You know, I think I'll write that one down in my diary. Dear myself… fiancée broke up with me after _two days_ and he says that he's sorry. All in all, a perfectly good day because he managed to say sorry. Which I guess is one hell of an accomplishment, especially for you, but I'm not going to go into that right now."

        "What do you want me to say?" he replied flatly, completely unprepared for the reaction that was going to come next.

        "Gods, Seto! _God!_ You have absolutely _no_ clue when it comes to people, do you? You're not supposed to ask me what to say, you're supposed to know it and even if you don't, you should at least _try_ and say something on your own. We're not here to spoon feed you words, and we're not here to be your little pawns that you can move around whenever you want." Before she could even begin to control herself – not that she was sure that she wanted to – she had grabbed him by the shirt and was now gesticulating wildly with her other hand, as if to do so would help convey her meaning better than simple words ever could. "You could at least _try_ and explain why the hell you did any of this. I knew something was up! I knew it! And I ignored it, but now that you've managed to really jerk me around, I want to at least know why and what you're doing!"

        Seto couldn't help but stare at her; she had never acted like this before. Granted, he had never dumped anything like this on her before, and the rest of the time she tended to keep to herself. He hadn't really known what to expect this time, as he had been pretty sure that this wasn't something that she would just keep to herself. But there was always that chance, which might have been why he had chosen to tell her face to face rather than through an e-mail or a phone call. It was as if he was trying to give her a chance to say something back, although he knew that his mind was made up.

        Perhaps it was because he did want to explain all of this, even though he knew it wouldn't make much of a difference. He'd used her in a desperate ploy to tell himself that he wasn't in love with Ryuuji, and now that it hadn't worked, he was dumping her and forcing himself to deal with his true feelings. Which was all fine and dandy when it came to him… but her….

        'I'm sorry' probably was the best thing he could say right now. He had never been one for empathy and his words tended to be as blunt and cold as his personality. A part of him wanted to be able to say something more, but it didn't really know what to say or how much it could really do.

        Slowly… _gently_… he reached out and took her wrist, forcing her to let go of him. She glared at her, waiting. Expectant. She needed to hear the words from him, and he needed to say them to somebody other than himself.

        "I love somebody else."

        She could only stare.

        Seto blinked, almost as if he was just as shocked that he was capable of saying the words as she was of listening to them. Hesitantly, almost as if he was testing a hypothesis over and over again, he repeated, "I… love somebody else."

        It explained a lot. Really, it did. Yuriko wasn't sure how she hadn't managed to pick up on it before, or perhaps she just had not wanted to. Who would, after all, want to believe that her boyfriend was in love with somebody else? Who?

        It didn't, however, explain how he could have done this. If he was in love with somebody else, and if he had been in love for a while, why had he done any of this?

        She couldn't believe this, even if she had expected something… big to happen. Something big. That was the only way she could explain it right now, but she was sure that in a couple of days she'll be able to come up with some other fine adjectives that would convey all her feelings. Right now though, that was all she could manage.

        She felt very tired suddenly, and quite stupid. She wasn't sure why she felt that way, or whether or not she should. But she also decided that she didn't really care either way, so she settled for asking, "Why?"

        He blinked at her. Why? Why?! How should he know why he was in love with Ryuuji? That was the question he would personally love to have answered, since he was having so many problems trying to figure it out on his own.

        "I don't…."

        "No. I don't want to know why you would love somebody else. It's none of my business. I want to know why you had to get me involved this way when you didn't have to."

        That was the question he had been hoping to avoid. She could see that from the way he stiffened. Some people might also have looked away in shame, but he just kept his eyes on her. So steady, so emotionless.

        At least, it should have been emotionless. It usually seemed that it was, so she wouldn't even bother looking for that little bit of humanity that he always seemed to be lacking. But for some reason, she had looked this time and she could see it there looking back at her. Finally.

        "It's him, isn't it? That guy at the restaurant?" When he didn't respond, she continued. "The one with the black hair and green–."

        "Yes."

        She let out a breath, "Gods. I should have known."

        "I'm sorry." It was the only thing he knew to say, so he just kept saying it. And he wasn't even the type of person who said those two words. Still, it wasn't exactly the time to gloat about small victories, especially since she didn't really feel like she had won anything.

        "Don't keep saying that if you don't mean it, Seto."

        He looked at her, "What makes you think I don't mean it?"

        "I don't know. I'm just telling you anyway. It's hard to tell what you mean and what you don't, so I'm not even going to try and distinguish between the two. It's just easier not to."

        "You're angry." Wow, he was really being observant today. He could just see Ryuuji banging his head against the wall or rolling his eyes… both actions he wouldn't himself mind participating in. It seemed like his thoughts were becoming more and more obsessive and pointless as the days went on, which really made him wonder if he was doing the right thing or not.

        But he'd already been through all of that, hadn't he?

        "I have a right to be," was the reply as Yuriko sat down on the concrete lining of a flower bed. She never took her eyes off of him though, and he kept watching her as well, waiting patiently for whatever she had to say next. "You still haven't explained why you did this though. I can live with you loving someone else, but I'm not going to spend the rest of my life wondering why you got me into this whole mess when it would have been so much kinder to just leave me out and not get my hopes up. I do suppose you have a reason, right?"

        "I doubt you'll want to hear it."

        "I don't doubt it. But I have to know."

        They were frowning at each other now, both waiting for the other person to back down and both knowing that it would never happen. It was up to one of them to say something, and since Seto had the most reason to, it would probably be him. But he didn't really know how to say it without making the situation even worse than it already was (hard as that was to believe), so he began to contemplate just apologizing again before going along his merry way.

        For some reason, he had a feeling that she wouldn't quite appreciate that.

        "I didn't want to love him."

        The words seemed to come out on their own accord, and he let them hang there for a moment as if he was as entranced by them as Yuriko was.

        _I didn't want to love him_.

        It was such a simple concept, really, just like the fact that he was in love with somebody and it just wasn't her. It explained so much about what had been happening over the past couple of weeks, and why any of this was happening.

        "You're really lost, aren't you?"

        Seto cocked his head slightly to look at her, "I take it you're starting to get the picture."

        "No, I didn't mention anything like that. I suppose you have a reason, and I'm starting to understand why you got me involved. But knowing that doesn't really make it any better," Yuriko said simply before she dug into her purse and pulled out the ring box. "Here."

        He couldn't help but blink at it before looking back up at her, "You didn't wear it."

        "I thought you would have noticed that before."

        "Why didn't you?"

        She sighed, almost impatiently, "Do you really have to ask, Seto?" She looked ready to stop after that but picked up again as she took his hand and placed the small velvet box in it, "Well, perhaps you do. Seto, you're not as impenetrable as you think you are, and I'm not quite that stupid. I guess I always knew that something was up – I just didn't want to believe it. So perhaps this was my fault as well as yours. But before you even think about it, it's still mostly your fault. Yes, I shouldn't have said yes, but you shouldn't have asked in the first place. So no, before you can ask although I doubt you ever will, I don't forgive you. I suppose I will, someday, but right now I don't. So do me a favor and please don't call me until you hear me getting engaged. And if I don't invite you to the wedding, please don't be offended. But it's just that… I'm going to need some time where the only time I hear about you is when you're on the news. Okay?"

        "So it's over."

        "Just like you wanted it, right?"

        Seto didn't reply to that, especially since he wasn't quite sure anymore.

        "Gods. I really just can't believe you sometimes," Yuriko sighed as she shook her head, finally looking away from him before letting out a small laugh as she ran her hand through her hair. "Well. This is just fabulous. Absolutely fabulous. A two-day engagement. I'm probably going to be branded for life now, you know. Cursed. Not that it makes a difference, right?"

        "I could write everyone a letter explaining the circumstances if you like."

        There was a silence as Yuriko stared at him, almost as if she couldn't believe she had actually been dating this man for the past months, "You don't honestly think that would work, do you?"

        Seto blinked, never taking his eyes off of her before he started to walk away.

        "Well… I used to."

~ * ~

        Honda was on the subway when his cell phone started to ring. It took him a moment or two to figure out that it was his since people rarely called him – and in the few cases that they were, he was usually trying to avoid them – and besides, everyone seemed to have cell phones these days so what was the chance that it was his anyway?

        Pretty good, apparently, he sighed to himself as he fumbled for the idiotic piece of technology in his pocket, finally making contact and pulling it out. Without bothering to check who it was because if he did the person would probably end up talking to his answering machine, he pressed the little phone button and brought it up to his ear, "Moshi moshi?"

        "It's Kaiba."

        Honda managed not to yell his disbelief, if only because he was in a very crowded train and he didn't think people would appreciate him sounding like he had just spotted a chainsaw serial killer in the passing train.

        Speaking of chainsaw serial killers….

        "Kaiba?" he managed to get out on a somewhat decent level. "Why are you–."

        "I need a favor."

Commentary:

[1] Here, I'm making a note about the apartments because I confused rayemars-san about it since I was writing about how he was outdoors but standing outside his apartment (or something to that effect). I never mentioned that when I imagined his apartment, it would be one where the hallways and such *were* outdoors. I modeled it after Jyounouchi's and Ryou's apartment, where everything is more or less covered but the hallways are still somewhat outdoors – no walls beyond barricades, I guess. The living apartments are all indoors, of course, but to get to the individual apartments, it's more like walking outside. -.-;; I'm not making much sense, am I? Err, well… never mind. *slinks off*

[2] Yasuo – Peaceful One. -_-;; I know it seems late and out of place, but when I originally wrote this I didn't really intend on ever giving Ryou's boyfriend a name. But Ninetails-chan kept prodding me so I decided to do this to shut her up. *leers at her*

[3] When I wrote this, I originally thought it was kind of weird to be bringing up the jet lag again when it was already several days later. But then I remembered my own bout when I came home from Japan – I basically spent the entire week thinking that it was a day later than it really was. Later, when I went to Italy, I spent most of the weekend before school sleeping it off… not a fun experience. -_-;; PM + Travel = Bad Combination

[4] For some reason, I just see him with glasses right now. For some reason, I think Honda would look really cute in glasses. And no, I do not know how that came up, but when I was writing that scene, I just kept seeing him with glasses peering at Ryuuji over the top of them. Teehee.

*pause* Oh kami. Now I feel really bad… I mean, a two day engagement? That's just… eep. *hides under a pillow*

Of course, rayemars-san had a more perky view about it, going somewhere along the lines of, "A two day engagement is always better than asking, and then thirty minutes later, while the soup and salad is being cleared away, going: "I changed my mind. Can I have my ring back?""

^~ Yes. So no killing the innocent PM. *gets chibi eyes*

Anyhow, in reference to the next chapter, it's possible that it won't be coming out on time. I'm doing pretty well with it, but we might have to take in my computer to get fixed so I might not be able to work on the chapter as much as I want. Plus the upcoming week is my quarter finals, and I have about a gazillion tests or so (not really, but it sure feels that way). So if you don't see a chapter in two weeks, that's why. Sorry!

PM


	13. Painted Sky

Painted Sky

      Aloha, mina-san! I realize it's taken me an obscene amount of time to finish this chapter, but there was just something wrong with everything that I was doing. Finally, I decided that the basis of my problem is that I'm trying to spread too little over three chapters when it can easily fit into one chapter – and although this means cutting out the two final chapters, it may be the only way I'll be able to complete this story. So yes, this will be the final chapter of the story. I didn't plan it this way – my original outline had 15 chapters. But the original outline just wasn't working, and so I have decided to consolidate all three chapters into one. A lot of what I had was really useless, and the story actually flows better with just one final chapter because I had been so worried about not giving away too much that I think it may have been the problem with my writing.

      I hope nobody is saddened by the loss of the two chapters… but there wasn't really any substance in them that justified their existence. I thank you for your patience (I know I took way too long with this chapter…) and so let us proceed to the final chapter.

grins Well, this is the last time you'll have to deal with me saying this over and over again. Many thanks to the readers and reviewers, and to the ever-wonderful rayemars-san.

Vulpes, Demon of fuzzy ears - That is a very good question… as soon as you asked it, I had this sudden mental image of Honda running his hand through his hair and ending up with one big cut. Ouch!

Feirdra - I really hope this chapter was worth the wait, considering how long I've made everyone wait. I'm really sorry, but thanks for being patient with me. And for the italics thing… ehehehe, it is supposed to be in italics, but when the thing got transferred to FF.net, it just made the thing disappear. But it was there originally. Really!

The Evil Laugh - There does need to be more people writing this pairing. I'll be so happy. grin But nice to see you back… it's been a while.

DI - No, no, Ryuuji! Cake will make you fat! innocent look I'm glad you liked the story… it's one of my favorites wonders why it isn't on her favorites list then Well, I'm such an idiot so that's probably why. happily munches on the few thousand cookies

MarmaladeGirl - I really thought it was a little less cliffhangy though since… um… because I said so. nods happily Okay, okay, I'm not exactly a good judge of it. But yes, they finally did confess! Took the two nitwits long enough, eh? .

dragonlady 1220 (AKA Liz16 Well, unfortunately I didn't manage 100 pages – I only got to 85 – but I hope it's still good. D I mean, it's still long. And long to write. Gyah. But hopefully this chapter is long enough for you!

Cairnsy - Hey, I like SetoYami! It's one of my favorite couplings – I just don't have much time to write it. Well, for now anyway. innocent look I personally feel very sorry for Honda though, since Ryuuji is such a difficult person to live with.  Although I think Honda is very insulted at the accusation of him messing everything up. Even though it's very true. grin

Alana Hikari-Chan - Unfortunately, we will never be able to meet Ryou's boyfriend… he never had any need to show up except as somebody to mention every once in a while, so he was never developed as much as he could have been.

Tuulikki - D Aww, it's okay. I didn't review all the chapters of your story either! And I'm glad you like Yuriko – she's more difficult of a character for me to deal with then the other ones I made, but I always liked her. She does seem more human than some of my other characters, for an odd reason. Although she is almost inhumanely pragmatic at times.

Bronze Eagle - Aloha! It's been a while! And I was pretty surprised that they confessed too… I'm not even sure if that was what was supposed to happen. Gah, I'm so bad at this. And as for the italics, well, it was supposed to all be in italics. I don't know why it disappeared suddenly. Quite evil, really.

Lady Shriannan Santrea - Yes, very poor Yuriko. Even I felt sorry for her, but in a way, it's actually a lot better for her. I mean, they would never have been very happy with each other, you know? So in a way, this is better for both of them. ;

motivateme129 - blinks at the eyeballs that have been sucked into the computer screen Kyahh? grins Well, wasn't able to get up this chapter soon but hopefully it's still okay.

lilmatchgirl - 4 AM? Wah! You should be asleep then! D I was anyway because I can't survive that long. Although I'll have to for grad night. Such a scary thought!

Lk -  Oh, go ahead and smack them. Maybe it'll make them smarter. D

Anime Girl Sasami - Heh, well, originally I wasn't going to be able to answer everything you wrote about in the review, but now I have nothing better to do than economics anyway, and you're definitely more important than that. P First of all, the apologies. I need to sit around for a while to remember exactly why he feels weak… obviously, my brain has stopped functioning since then. I think it's not only the fact that you're wrong, but you're basically humbling yourself to someone else, you know? And while it is indeed very brave to be able to do that, it also makes you feel a bit stupid that you could have been so wrong. And the worse the situation was, it's kind of like… the more you were wrong. Perhaps? The sarcasm is a mix of mine and Ryuuji's… I mean, there isn't that much personality in the show so you often have to add in a bit of your own quirks and such, or the quirks you see in other people. The breaking dishes reference to Jyounouchi and Mai in a previous chapter was something my own parents do, and it's just these small, teeny tiny things that most people never notice. As for Honda – yes. Glasses. And I think Honda sounds more intelligent then Ryuuji for most of the story, let alone the chapter! P And I'm pretty sure you told me about the cavities in "Pink and Red" (now that was serious sap overload). And did I really call Seto 'her' twice?! Anyhow, the only person you got wrong was the psychotic father who commited suicide. That one was supposed to be Seto, since technically he wasn't pushed out the window. I mean, sure he was driven crazy to his death, but still… he didn't have to die! Right? As for the in love with a spirit, that was actually a reference to Anzu since she originally liked Yami no Yuugi. And Jyounouchi and Mai were part of the dying thing… although I guess they technically didn't die. But they were close! I think, anyway. It's hard for me to tell anymore. I'm such a loser… sheepish grin

Chibi Kitty - Ah! There's another Seto/Ryuuji fanfic called "Anonymity" by Chevira Lowe. That one is really good and it's the one that got me into the coupling. Nek0-chan also has some so you can look at those, and Ninetails-chan has one called "Beautiful Stranger". Those are all lovely, and probably much better than mine.

Ninetails-chan - Well, actually I think Mami slapped him in the face too. Now that I think of it, Seto isn't too lucky when it comes to my OCs. Oh well, he deserves it. And as for the continuiniation, I'm doing the AU thing, remember? An AU for an AU… psh. Oh well! I should work on that someday, shouldn't I? The first part was already up on my lj a while back, although I admit it wasn't any good. D glomp So good to talk to you… I miss you so! ;-; I was hoping to catch you yesterday but I didn't get the oppurtunity sob. Better luck next week though, right? huggle

Painted Sky

      Blind dates were somewhat of an unknown to the small group of friends, mainly due to the fact that none of them had ever been on one. There had never been any need since they had known each other for so long. Yuugi and Anzu, for example, had known each other since Domino High, as she was one of the few people who had been kind to him when he was still considered a bully magnet [1]. Honda had met Shizuka since she was his best friend's sister, and Yami no Bakura and Yami no Yuugi had known each other for a lot longer than either wanted to admit to. Ryuuji himself had known Malik due to the stint of 'that psychopath over there is trying to kill my friends', and besides, their relationship had been more of a fling than anything that could be considered long-term.

      Ryou, who had discovered his romantic prospects outside of the small group, had dated the most. This was after a certain psychotic other who just happened to _enjoy_ popping up at the most inopportune times –something that tended to put dents in relationships – had happily turned his attentions to annoying the pharaoh with his antics, leaving Ryou to a somewhat peace. Even then, most of his boyfriends had been people he had met before, whether that be at work, in the library, at a coffee shop, or whatnot. Nobody had ever offered to set him up in on a blind date, which was just as well because Ryou didn't think he could stand the 'excitement' of such an experience.

      The only person who had come close to a blind date was Jyounouchi. It was, as noted, a close call because he did not actually go on the date. As soon as Mai had found out that Jyounouchi had rather confusedly accepted a proposition – he had been a bit distracted at the time, as he was in the middle of a tournament when a squealing fan girl asked if she could set him up with one of her friends – she had decided that it was time to stop being subtle. So an hour before said friend could come, the blonde had practically kicked down the door of his dorm, grabbed him by the ear, and hauled him out for their first 'date'. It had been a perfectly lovely one too, as long as one ignored the fact that the two spent most of the time bickering at each other. Jyounouchi kept complaining about how Mai had nearly pulled his ear off, and she would retort by grabbing the other ear and yanking rather viciously on it to 'even out the pain'. This would lead to Jyounouchi to complain about how she had nearly pulled that ear off, and she would again reply by pulling the first ear. It was a rather embarrassing situation although neither seemed to notice exactly how embarrassing it was. More importantly, it had resulted in a cycle of ear pulling that continued to this day [2].

      Ryuuji had never put much stock into blind dates. There was probably a reason why they were called 'blind' dates, as there were plenty of other names they could and should be called by. He couldn't think of one at the moment, but he did know that if he was going to go on a date with someone he didn't know, he certainly wouldn't want it to be named after a disability. It was like putting a damper on everything before it could even happen.

      It might have just been him though.

      Still, there was a reason why he was even addressing the topic in the first place, and most of it was because of a certain brown-eyed roommate. And things had been going so well for the past week too. Honda was finally starting to back off a little, although he had forgotten to buy milk even after Ryuuji had reminded him not to forget several times. This had led to a little name calling but luckily it didn't progress beyond that.

      But just when it looked like they were finally going to be settling back to their pre-my-roommate-slept-with-an-arrogant-pain-in-the-ass-CEO-and-all-I-got-was-a-loud-bitching-even-though-it-wasn't-my-fault lives, Honda dropped the bomb by loudly announcing that he had set Ryuuji up on a blind date.

      Which would have been fine, really. Ryuuji was an adaptable person – he didn't need that much time to get ready. Just an hour or so. Maybe two. That would have been enough.

      Unfortunately, Honda had chosen to inform the raven-haired man of this rather important piece of information approximately two seconds _after_ the date had been let into the building. And before Ryuuji could blink, he found himself looking blankly at the wrong side of his front door.

      For some odd reason, this made him very unhappy.

;;

      "You're a _dead_ man the next time I see you! Do you _hear_ me, Honda Hiroto?! _Dead!_"

      If Honda was actually bothering to listen, he wasn't bothering to reply. This, of course, did not make Ryuuji any happier, although he wasn't very happy most of the time anyway.

      It wasn't that he was worried about what was going to happen. Why should he? He was, after all, a very charming and _very_ gorgeous individual (these were his thoughts, mind, although he was quite convinced that the rest of the world shared such convictions), so it was not like he was going to have any problems dealing with whatever peasant he was being set up with. No, he just would have liked a little more _time_ to get ready, and despite what Honda thought, telling him that there was a date coming to pick him up in approximately two minutes was really not enough time to become more perfect than he already was.

      He hadn't really bothered to think when the doorbell had rung, too busy going over some papers. He'd had a set of earphones on and was quite happily humming along to some J-pop, so he hadn't been able to hear what was being said over the intercom. Which was perfectly fine with him since whoever had come had come to see Honda, and thus it did not concern him.

      So it came as a bit of a surprise when Honda had walked over to him, pulled off his headphones, and said in a complete deadpan, "Your date is coming up now."

      Ryuuji had blinked at him for a moment or two before grabbing the earphones back, "Nice try, Honda. I don't have a date."

      Before he could put them back on, Honda took them away again, "You do now."

      And then, barely giving him time to let out even a _squeak_ of protest – the nerve! – Honda had taken advantage of his shock in order to pull him up, propel him to the wide-open door, shove him outside, and slam it shut before anything could be said or done.

      Back in the present, Ryuuji was still busy – and not to mention _graphically_ – describing exactly what he was going to do the next time he got his hands on his roommate.

      "And then, when I've finished kicking your head around, I'm going to cut your body into little pieces and wrap _each one up_ in a trash bag. And do you know what I'm going to do next? Huh? Do you know? Well, I'm going to drop one piece in _every single_ trash bin from here to _Tokyo_ so that if anybody should ever get the idea that they would want to put you back together, they wouldn't be able to! Especially since I'm going to drop your head and hands into the deepest part of the Pacific Ocean so they can never, _never_ identify you! You'll remain a nameless corpse for the rest of eternity until some intelligent person finally decides that the case will _never_ be solved so they dump your parts into the nearest meat grinder and _then_–."

      "You watch too much TV [3], Ryuuji."

      The voice was cold, but there was an almost… amused hint to it. Ryuuji, however, was too busy to notice as he nearly jumped out of his skin before spinning around to find himself staring into blue eyes.

      And as his mind finally began to comprehend what was happening, his cheeks began to flush a brilliant shade of red at the fact that Seto had patiently been listening to him threaten his roommate and he quickly backed away as far as he could. Which wasn't very far since the door was right behind him, but he was able to get far enough away so that he could stare at Seto's entire face. He wasn't quite sure why he would want to but that was a different story. And exactly why had the CEO gotten so close to him in the first place? Hadn't the guy ever heard of a personal space bubble?!

      Ryuuji was currently wishing that said bubble had an electric fence and a set of big, rabid guard dogs, although he was actually scared of dogs, especially when they were big and rabid. And if they were going to be in his personal space bubble… well, maybe he could do without them.

      … in order to replace them with bunnies. Pointy-teeth bunnies. With red eyes. Yes, that was exactly what he was going to do.

      Clearing his throat, he attempted to make himself appear as aloof and unconcerned as the person standing before him, although that was pretty difficult to do with his wet hair clinging tenaciously to his shirt. Ryuuji was – quite unfortunately, now that he thought about it – the kind of idiot who let his hair dry rather than using a hair dryer. He had a pretty good reason for it though. Drying hair seemed to be a waste of time when it could just dry on its own, and besides, he'd heard rumors that hair dryers could actually _damage_ his fine, luxurious locks of hair.

      He certainly couldn't have that happening now, could he?

      "I appreciate your concern, Kaiba, but it's really none of your business," he frowned, returning to the subject at hand. Seto's presence was unexpected, and he would have to adapt to it quickly. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as he glanced sharply at the brunettete, expression somewhat confused despite his attempts at being as antisocial [4] as his 'companion' was. "What are you doing here anyway?"

      "Aren't we being polite," Seto drawled dryly as he looked the other man over. "I needed to talk to you about something."

      "Well, whatever it is, make it quick. Despite what you think, I am a _very_ busy person, and I happen to be _waiting_ for someone right now," Ryuuji replied automatically, making sure that he stressed the word 'waiting', as if the person he was waiting for was… say, the supreme ruler of the university instead of the blind date that he hadn't even been aware of until Honda had told him approximately two minutes ago. But never mind any of that previous prejudice he might have had, especially if that person would be able to save him from this horrible situation.

      _Unless_….

      Try as he might, his mind was currently running rampant with the possibility. A very illogical possibility that he did not… no. _No._ Honda might be cruel, desperate, and evil, but he wouldn't do something like _this_ to him, would he? He couldn't hate him this much, right?!

      Perhaps he simply didn't want to see what had been staring at him this entire time.

      "No," he said firmly.

      Seto raised an eyebrow as Ryuuji continued.

      "No. I'm not playing this game with you anymore. You're _engaged_. You can't be having any last minute flings, and even if you could because you happen to be the great and mighty Kaiba Seto, I'm not going to help you. I've had enough of you, and your nasty comments, and your mouth, and your blue eyes, and… and I really don't want to talk about this anymore so could you please just go away?"

      And with that, he turned around with more than a little enthusiasm, only to be thwarted by the tiny fact that the door was still locked and he didn't have any keys to rectify the situation.

      Damn it.

      "You seem to be having some problems."

      Damn Kaiba and his stupid observation skills. Why couldn't he just keep his mouth shut?

      "No I'm not. And even if I did, it's none of your business," Ryuuji snapped. And that would have been the end of the conversation except for the fact that Seto kept giving him the same amused expression, prompting him to continue. "Okay, perhaps I do have a problem. It's you. As in you won't go away. So could you please go away? Why aren't you moving? Are we not noting an attempt at feigned politeness to make somebody go away?"

      "No."

      "What, am I being too subtle?"

      "I'm not that stupid, Ryuuji. Although I admit that your idea of subtle is much better than Jyounouchi's, but he's about as subtle as a brick."

      The mere mention of Jyounouchi's name was rapidly bring back some unpleasant memories – most of which dealt with a certain unhappy homecoming – and Ryuuji had to fight not to show the wince. Not to mention the fact that despite his continued use of Seto's last name, the brunettete was continuing to be a pain and using _his_ first name. It was something that was making him decidedly uncomfortable, but Seto seemed to have no intention of stopping such annoying behavior.

      After all, he wouldn't be so annoying if he did.

      "I would appreciate it if you left, Kaiba," he finally hissed, tone icy. Perhaps _that_ would catch the brunettete's attention, even though he was lying through his teeth.

      Seto cocked his head slightly and looked at the game inventor with a passive expression before asking, "Would you really?"

      He opened his mouth to say 'yes', but something within him balked at giving such a fake answer. Especially since both of them knew what the real reply was, and he didn't want to open himself up to any more mockery, if such a thing was even possible. Knowing Seto it was, and he wasn't about to give the CEO anymore opportunities to torment him.

      "I think he would let you back in if you let me take you out to dinner, you know," Seto finally added, somewhat saving him from complete and utter humiliation.

      _Somewhat_.

      "And that is precisely the problem. He shouldn't be getting involved in these things, and you shouldn't be listening to him. In fact, I think it might be best if you left so I could quietly return to my plans of killing Honda off so neither of us will need to deal with these distractions anymore, and you should be thanking me for making both our lives a little easier to deal with without having an annoying busybody trying to dictate our actions."

      "I'm not doing this because he asked me to."

      "Well, that's what you _think_. But he can really be quite sneaky. I should know since I've lived with him for so long, but it's not something that many people realize. Still, it's not your fault for being duped by him. As soon as I get in, I'll make sure to speak to him about it."

      "Before or after you kick his head around?"

      "I don't know. Which one do you suggest?"

      "If he's dead, you won't be able to make him listen."

      "He wouldn't have listened to me anyway, so what would it matter?"

      "As amusing as this is, we aren't getting anywhere."

      "There is a reason for that, you do realize."

      "And what would that be?"

      "I don't know, but if you give me some time, I'm sure I will think of one."

      "Think quickly."

      Ryuuji looked at him skeptically, but did so anyway. "It's not like we have anywhere to go. Technically, we have all the time in the world to keep at each other, and you're not going to deny that are you?"

      Seto couldn't help but pause at that, and he gave Ryuuji an odd look. "No. Why should I?"

      Ryuuji gave him a slow smile, "That's what I thought."

      "Would it kill you to stop being so disagreeable?"

      "Considering who this is coming from, I don't think you're one to talk," was the frank reply before he fixated the brunettete with an annoyed scowl. "And is it just me or is it taking an unreasonable amount of time to get rid of you, considering how you always seemed to claim that I'm somehow infecting you with some disease that is causing you to act completely out of character?"

      Even as the words flew out of his mouth at startling speeds, he wondered why he was being so… intolerant of the brunettete's presence. It was strange – he had spent most of the past week wishing that he would be able to see him, and now that his wish was coming true, he wanted nothing more than to get away. It was like the reality differed so sharply against his imagination, even though he was starting to know better than anyone what to expect when it came to the CEO.

      And what that was was really… nothing. Absolutely nothing.

      Which was, in the end, a vast majority of the problem. He expected to receive nothing, and when Seto finally did try to give something, it threw him off so badly that he wanted nothing more than to escape.

      Well, perhaps not to escape. Just… he wanted to be able to understand Seto. He needed to be able to know what was going to happen, and not have to deal with all this confusion. Some people were stable… understandable. Seto, at a first glance, seemed to be one of those people who would never change no matter how much you tried to make them, but then you started to get to know him. And that's when everything started to crumble.

      It wasn't that he opened up to just anyone. Yuugi had tried to get to know him the best of the small group, but the brunettete had certainly never opened up to him.

      Not like Seto was opening up to _him_, at least.

      It wasn't that he didn't want to say yes. He just didn't know if he wanted to risk those fragmented pieces of the life he was trying to get back.

      He opened his mouth to say something, but before he could, Seto interrupted him.

      "I broke up with Yuriko."

;;

      "Where do you want to go for dinner?"

      There was no hesitation, "KFC [5]."

      Silence.

      "What?"

      "Kentucky Fried Chicken? Don't tell me that you've never been there, Kaiba."

      "I can honestly say that I haven't."

      "Psh. No wonder you're so messed up. You have to try it – it's the very epitome of fast food! Well, actually McDonalds is but I don't really like hamburgers and their chicken is weird…."

      "You're joking."

      "You asked me where I wanted to go."

      "Why would you want to go _there_?"

      "I was planning on going there when Honda kicked me out, and it would be such a blow to my carefully organized plans if I wasn't able to go there even with you around. Besides, you can't tell me that you never enjoyed such a fine mode of dining? Not to mention cheap and fast. Those words should be in your vocabulary."

      "I can't believe you."

      "I'll remind you again that you're the one who asked me. But since I'm starting to get the impression that you didn't really expect an answer, where have you already decided for us to go?"

      Seto told him.

      "Well then, why didn't you just say so from the start?"

      If he had, then it would have been too easy. But since he didn't think Ryuuji would appreciate an answer like that, he chose to keep his mouth shut.

      The car trip thereafter was silent.

      It wasn't a bad silence, since both were participating in it out of their own free will. Neither had anything to say, but at the same time, neither expected the other person to say anything. But despite the almost strange comfort involved, the silence was still awkward, and every once in a while one would glance over to look at the other. Through pure luck and good timing, their eyes somehow managed never to meet, but an uneasy feeling pervaded through the car as both wallowed in their own thoughts, trying their best not to drown.

      It had not taken Seto very long to convince Ryuuji to go out with him – if that was the right term for it – after the rather unexpected confession. He would have told the raven-haired man about it sooner or later, but he hadn't exactly expected the words to fall out of his lips right then and there. But when it did, and there was no way of reversing it, Seto had just shrugged and used it to his advantage. Adaptation was one of the talents that a CEO had to know, after all, and he had gotten quite good at it.

      Almost to the point that it was surpassing his ability to lie to himself.

;;

      Ryuuji was smirking at him, something Seto pointedly ignored as he confirmed his extremely important reservation at the extremely expensive restaurant. The owner of the extremely expensive restaurant was very pleased that he was there, and so an extremely underpaid individual was sent to take the two to their extremely expensive seat at the back of the extremely expensive restaurant, and not to mention wait on them hand and foot. And the entire time, Ryuuji smirked at him, something that Seto chose to ignore with the usual frown on his face.

      Well, for the most part.

      "Don't tell me that your face has decided to permanently adopt that expression, Ryuuji."

      The raven-haired man was saved the task of coming up with an appropriately witty and downright biting remark when a menu was conveniently shoved in front of his face, preventing him from having to say anything. He did wonder, however, if it was simply good timing or something along the lines of a sign from god for him to keep his mouth shut.

      But since he wasn't a very big believer in the gods or fate or anything of the sort (for while it was nice to have somebody to blame for your problems, the fact that somebody was causing you problems that you couldn't really prevent was a concept which never boded well for him), he set the menu to the side and rested his chin on the palm of his hand as he fixed a long look on his companion.

      Seto didn't even blink.

      "What."

      "I'm trying to figure out what's going on."

      He was too, but at least he had enough self-restraint to keep himself from simply blurting it out. "Figure it out after you order."

      Not exactly the most polite answer ever, but Ryuuji supposed that Seto had a point. After all, who would want to be interrupted in the middle of arguing by a waiter? Best to wait until after ordering in order to maximize time that could be spent trying to annoy each other, although he did have a tiny suspicion that Seto didn't mean for such a thing to happen. Except Seto was just such an annoying person that he could annoy someone without actually meaning to, although most of the time he did intend it.

      "So what should we do until then? Small talk?"

      "Why not?" Seto replied calmly, earning an incredulous look.

      "Have you ever done small talk before?"

      "No." He answered so easily, as if he didn't mind letting the world know what was going on in his brain. Or at least he didn't mind Ryuuji knowing, which was a world of difference.

      In order to block out any confusion he might be feeling, Ryuuji started to talk. Or rather, blabber incoherently.

      "Oh. Well, in case you didn't know, small talk is where you talk about boring, inane, everyday things that normal people like to talk about when they have nothing better to do," Ryuuji said, although a part of him just wanted to shake Seto senseless or at least until an answer popped out of his mouth. Instead though, he cleared his throat before fixing Seto with what he hoped was a very relaxed and unfazed expression. "For example, what did you think of the movie?"

      "What movie?"

      With reactions like that though, Ryuuji was seriously starting to wonder if Seto was even listening to him. Of course, if he was in the brunette's position, he wouldn't be listening, but that was a different story.

      "The one we watched with Yuugi-tachi. The one where we ended up sitting together. The one where we got left behind. The one where you basically sexually assaulted me, in case you're having trouble remembering," the words flew out of his mouth with such ease that it was hard for him to tell exactly how stupid they were.

      Seto raised an eyebrow, "I sexually assaulted _you_?"

      The skepticism in the CEO's voice made Ryuuji want to stick his tongue out at him, but instead he continued to blabber without any apparent thought to the ill consequences that could come out of it. "Well, Kaiba, when people kiss, they're supposed to be in mutual agreement. If they're not, then it's non-consensual which could practically be constituted as rape!"

      "You really shouldn't trivialize such things, Ryuuji."

      "_You_ shouldn't keep ignoring the question. And how many more times am I going to have to tell you to stop using my first name? We're not that close."

      "There was no question," Seto pointed out calmly before addressing the rest of the rant. "And in my opinion, we are close enough to be on a first name basis."

      "We barely know each other."

      "Do we?"

      Now that was an interesting question. Even though they had only started to get to know each other for the past couple of weeks, Ryuuji felt oddly… close to the brunette. The annoying, opinionated, stubborn brunette who seemed to have a stick permanently up his ass, but as the days had gone by there seemed to be an almost human quality to him. That was a fascinating idea since for most people – Ryuuji included, prior to this – Seto wasn't even human. He was just… there.

      "I don't even know why I bother trying to understand you, Kaiba."

      "Maybe it's because you have too much time on your hands," was the curt reply. Or at least it would have been the reply if they had not been interrupted by the waiter, who should at this point be congratulated for having the best possible timing ever. Instead though, his meek question of whether or not they were ready to order was met by two icy stares, prompting him to look rather squeamish, as if he was worried that both occupants were suddenly going to leap up and eat him. Sort of like a Hannibal Lector thing. Except hopefully he'd be dead. And the fact that he was hoping he was dead happened to make the entire situation even worse than it already was. But anyhow. Moving on.

      Seto somehow managed to swallow the words that were just dying to pop out as he turned his attention back to Ryuuji, who was still eyeing the waiter with an expression that seemed to be saying 'Maybe some fava beans…'.

      "You first."

      That snapped him out of his reverie as he blinked at the brunette, "Why?"

      "You're the guest."

      "I'm a guest now?"

      Seto let out an exasperated sigh and his eye had a definite twitch. It looked like one of those situations that one shouldn't come within a ten mile radius of, but it was already a little too late for that wasn't it?

      "Just order."

      "Fine. I'll have anything with chicken."

      A long silence followed the proclamation, as it took Ryuuji a while to realize that they were both waiting for him to continue. "What?"

      "Would you like to be a little more specific?" One would think that Seto was the waiter, although he would probably be the type to spit in the drinks rather than be polite.

      "Not really. I haven't exactly opened the menu yet since somebody kept talking to me."

      "If you hadn't been so busy staring at me the entire time, than maybe you would have had enough time to read it already," Seto snapped back.

      "I wouldn't have been able to understand any of it anyway. I've never had any Italian food before beyond spaghetti," Ryuuji shrugged slightly at this, ignoring another eye twitch. "Honda doesn't like cheese, so we never bothered to go to places like these. Besides, Kaiba, I'm sure that you're a lot better than me at ordering food anyway, and since you probably know what's good and what's not, why don't you do it?"

      "I don't understand why Honda's eccentricities should have any effect on what you do."

      Ryuuji frowned, putting down the more or less forgotten menu on the table as he gave the CEO an odd look, "Kaiba, if Mokuba didn't like something, would you be eating food that had a lot of that thing in it?"

      "No, but that's a moot point. We're brothers. You and Honda aren't."

      "You don't have to be related to someone to be affected by them." It was Ryuuji's turn to have his voice taken on a positively frosty tone. "That's something which is taking you a while to understand."

      "I could come back later…."

      "You're dependent."

      "Aren't you also?"

      "He's my brother."

      "And Honda is my friend. What's your point?"

      "It's different."

      "Is not."

      "Why?"

      "Because, Kaiba, despite your decidedly shitty childhood, you at least had the knowledge that there was somebody always there for you. Maybe that's why you never needed friends – you always had your brother, and no matter what you did, he would always be there. Always. After kaasan died, we never stayed anywhere long enough for me to bother finding anyone that might make it worth my while to want to stay in this lovely hellhole called life, and tousan wasn't exactly the type of person who you would want to embrace with open arms. He didn't care, he just needed something from me that he couldn't get from anyone else. Maybe that's why I stayed; because some idiotic part of me thought that I would be able to get him to care about me if I managed to do what he wanted. Obviously I didn't or you wouldn't have had your rival anymore, but after that rather botched attempt at stealing Yuugi's Sennen Puzzle, Honda was the first person who actually invited me to go anywhere. Not Yuugi, but Honda. So I'm probably a sap for acting this way, he'll probably puke if he heard me talking about him like this, and you think I'm completely nuts, but that's just how it is. I found in him what you found in your brother, and for that, I think I'd be willing to give up Italian food for the rest of my life. Wouldn't you?"

      He pushed his chair back so that he could stand, still glaring at Seto who had a remarkably calm expression on his face as he simply watched. "I need to use the restroom. Excuse me."

      With that, he walked away with two pairs of eyes watching as he went one way before realizing that it was the wrong direction, causing him to walk right by them again before he finally did manage to find the restroom. There was a moment's silence after his departure before Seto turned to the waiter, who was still blinking and trying to take in the sudden events of the past few minutes.

      But the server was a trained professional, and it did not take him too long to turn back to Seto with a frozen smile on his face, nodding politely as he took down the orders and then went on his way.

      He watched out of the corner of his eye when Seto got up in order to follow Ryuuji, although unlike the raven-haired man, there were no detours this time.

;;

      "I'm an idiot."

      His reflection just blinked back at him dumbly, and he sighed as he once again realized that a one-sided conversation probably wasn't going to win him any points for sanity if someone should suddenly walk in on him. Thus he chose to instead lean down and splash some of the cold water on his face in a desperate attempt to cool his burning cheeks, although he doubted it would work too well. He had, after all, just emerged from what could be termed as a highly embarrassing situation, and it would probably take him several centuries or so to make up for that single moment.

      Still, what he had said was more or less… true. His rather turbulent relationship with his father had led to a variety of strange results after the old man's departure, consequences that were often contradictory. Otogi-san [6] had been a total control freak, although he rarely had to exert his powers through punishment. Every time Ryuuji would start to break away, he'd do something completely normal that would force him back. The constant moving kept him from ever having anyone except his father, creating a dependency that made it easier for him to be swayed by each and every demand – however inane it seemed – that was set upon him. It had taken him a while to realize all of this, and it had already been over by then. After that, he had always promised himself that he would become his own person, unweighted by the wants and needs of someone else.

      For the most part, he had succeeded at that. But then there was Yuugi-tachi, and most importantly, Honda. He doubted that his roommate ever realized it, but there was an almost paranoid reliance that had resulted in some odd decisions on Ryuuji's behalf. He was, of course, cheap. There was no doubt in his mind about it. However, it wasn't because he was cheap that he continued to live with Honda. It would have been relatively easy for him to have found a place of his own after university and any time after that, but it was almost as if despite his need to always be in control of the situation, he couldn't really be in control of his own life without having a safety net. And that's what the brunette had ended up becoming with his steady, reliable personality. He was stability, and he kept Ryuuji from completely going off the deep end, even if the game inventor sometimes joked that he already was crazy.

      Maybe he was though, in a way.

      Damn it.

      "You're not in love with him, are you?"

      He had to grab the sink to keep himself from making a spectacle by falling all over the bathroom floor – which wouldn't be as bad as it could be since the floor was extremely clean, but that was beyond the point. As soon as he managed to find his balance, he whirled around to stare at Seto with what could be deemed a dangerously unstable expression and screamed, "What?!"

      "Honda. You're not in love with him, right?" Seto pressed, with a tone that might have been called desperate if it wasn't for the fact that he was Kaiba Seto. And as had been reiterated many, many times before, Kaiba Seto did not ever need to be desperate, especially when it came to something like this.

      "What kind of question is that?!"

      "I just want to know before I proceed to embarrass myself any further."

      "You're going to embarrass yourself? Now this I have to see."

      "You're not going to see anything if you don't answer the question. Besides, I fully intend on sending a group of heavily-armed and well-trained assassins after you once this is over so that you won't have any ability of spreading what I have to say to you."

      Ryuuji had no doubt that Seto could find a group of heavily-armed and well-trained assassins if he really wanted to. This was the guy, after all, who had hired three killers (four including a guy who had watched too many chainsaw-based horror movies) in order to do payback on Yuugi. But all of that really wasn't very important.

      "Kaiba." Ryuuji's voice was sickingly sweet and oddly high-pitched, his voice rising with every word he spoke. "Kaiba, are you in love with your brother?"

      It didn't take Seto very long to see the point that Ryuuji was trying to make. "I see."

      "Good. Besides," Ryuuji smirked, "just because we're having sex doesn't mean I'm in love with him."

      There was a brief silence before Seto replied simply, "I'm going to ignore that."

      "You go do that."

      "I need to tell you something."

      "You need to tell me a lot of things, actually. You can start with why you broke up with your fiancée, for example."

      My, wasn't he being blunt today? And quite possibly bitter. But only a little bit.

      And as for Seto, the only thing he could think about was that it wasn't quite supposed to be going like this. He had been expecting to calm Ryuuji long enough so that he could figure out a way to explain everything, but instead, he was now stuck in the men's restroom and the only thing he had to say was the things he had been supposed to say for so long… except that he didn't really want to say any of it.

      But Ryuuji was looking at him expectantly, and he didn't really have any excuses or witty one-word comments to throw at the game inventor in order to get him off this topic. Besides, they were going to end up here sooner or later, and it just happened to be sooner than he preferred.

      "I know." Should he go for blunt and straight-forward, or should he wander onto random topics in order to annoy Ryuuji? He knew what the obvious answer was of course, even though it was taking him a while to acknowledge it. After all, Ryuuji did look rather amusing when he was extremely exasperated. "It just wasn't real."

      Ryuuji blinked at him twice, curiosity and suspicion crossing his face as he remained silent, waiting for Seto to continue since he did not really have much to say in response to such a statement.

      "It was like that sky your mother made. I tried to put aside my feelings for something else, but in the end, it wasn't the same and I knew that. It wasn't real, and it could not compare to the real thing. Which was you."

      "Oh." The answer was fairly squeaky, and it was followed by a deafening silence before Ryuuji spoke again. "I don't think kaasan would have appreciated her work being used for your analogy."

      "You mean how everything is open to interpretation, and how it all depends on the way you look at something if it will ever have any meaning to you."

      "Yeah. I guess that means you were actually listening."

      "Did you ever doubt it?"

      "If you were in my place, wouldn't you?"

      Seto looked at him, "Just because I would doesn't mean you would. We're different people, in case you haven't noticed."

      "I know." Ryuuji sounded somewhat annoyed at the implication, but his irritation quickly dissipated at Seto's next words.

      "You're different. I've seen you for so long but I never really was able to understand you. I think that if I had never met you, Yuriko and I would have been satisfied together. There was enough between us that we could be comfortable, but there wasn't anything beyond that. Which was fine with me because at the time, I didn't really need anything beyond that. And then I met you."

      "I don't think 'met' is quite the right word for what happened to us," Ryuuji joked weakly, his mind trying to process everything that was being said to him.

      Seto shrugged a little bit – aka not at all – as he continued, "If I had never gotten to know you, then I never would have wanted anything more than what I already had. And knowing that, I sometimes cannot help but wish that I never did wake up to find you in my bed."

      He ignored Ryuuji's exasperated exclamation. "But it's too late for that because it already happened, and then everything that happened after that just continued to point out that Yuriko and I were never going to be happy with each other. I should have stopped all contact with you when I could have."

      "Well then why didn't you, if I'm such a tragedy to your life?" was the snapped demand. "If you would be so much better off, why did you keep following me everywhere? Were you waiting for me to tell you to leave me alone or something? Because I tried that and obviously it didn't work, so why did you keep doing everything that you did if it would have been so easy for you to just stop?"

      Seto snorted, "I thought you of all people would have figured it out by now."

      "Pretend I haven't, okay?"

      What happened next was something that Ryuuji had daydreamed about many times before. But despite that, he still wasn't prepared for the words that so casually dropped out of Seto's mouth as if it was the most natural thing in the entire universe.

      'It' being proclaiming love.

      "I didn't stop because I love you."

      Ryuuji's mind happily decided to shut down, and he could only sit back in shock and watch as his mouth stuttered, "Wha… what?"

      "You're flamboyant, you're loud, you're annoying, you're lacking in self-control, you're self-delusional, you're the most PMS-y person I know and that includes the time when Mai went crazy because the mutt forgot to buy her a birthday gift, and dare I mention the fact that you are an extremely bad drunk and there should be a law made to keep you forever away from alcohol. And despite all of that, as well as my preference not to be doing this, I still haven't been able to convince myself otherwise," Seto watched for some type of reaction from Ryuuji, but he never got one. That was rather surprising, since one of the faults that he had listed off was 'lacking in self-control', and now the other man was showing a remarkable amount of… well, just that. And since Ryuuji wasn't saying anything, he didn't have any other choice but to just keep talking in order to fill up the empty void of silence. "You asked me in the park why I was doing any of this. I told you that I didn't know, and I'm still not sure. But I don't really care either. I just figure that if I really am making a fool out of myself right now, it's because I love you, and I can only hope you feel the same way for me."

      "That might have been considered remotely romantic if you weren't the one saying it. I'm getting _Pride and Prejudice_ [7] vibes right now. You do realize there is a remarkable similarity between you and Mr. Darcy?" When Seto didn't reply, Ryuuji gave him a crooked smile. "I just had to point that out. I mean, this is starting to sound like a very bad romance novel in which nothing can ever really be resolved. Don't you hate stories like that?"

      Seto couldn't help but flinch slightly at the question. He wasn't quite sure where Ryuuji was hoping to go with it and he doubted if the raven-haired man knew either. Still, he felt obligated to ask. "Do you really think that we're not going to be able to figure this out?"

      "Uh, I'm not really sure. It's strange because I feel the same way for you, except you're stubborn, a prick, a complete and total bastard, and you need to work on your fashion sense which is currently non-existent."

      Seto opened his mouth to object, considering _Ryuuji's_ choice of clothing, but Ryuuji cut him off when he continued.

      "Plus you seem to spend most of your time deliberately trying to piss me off, something that I'm not exactly appreciative of. But I guess it wouldn't be too bad if we tried something. I mean, compared to what we're doing right now, which is trying to piss each other off as much as we can. Well, we're still doing that but it's not really the same if we did it officially, you know?" He was really rambling now, and the words were flying out of his mouth before he could really think them through. That wasn't really good since if there was one thing he prided himself with, it was having brains. His current behavior wasn't exactly exemplifying any of that though. "And then there's the fact that there's a rest of the world to worry about. I mean, the good thing about you and Yuriko is that you can do all the stuff that high-profile couples do like have weddings and babies and all that stuff. Which we can't really do, since you can ask all you want but I'm not going to let myself get impregnated like that California governor did in the movie…. [8]"

      "I don't mind."

      It was hard to tell what he was referring to – the publicity or the fact that Ryuuji was talking about male pregnancy. Both of which were rather disturbing, now that he thought of it.

      Ryuuji laughed softly, "I know you don't mind. I don't mind either. And that is the most important thing, right… what we want and what we think we can do? And I know we both want this and I know we both probably can do this without killing each other too badly, so really there's nothing to hold us back, is there?" His voice was becoming rather desperate and shrill. "And then there's the little things like who's house we're going to live in because Honda and my apartment is really much too small for all three of us, and what about our companies and what they're going to think and then there's… mmph!"

      At the risk at getting yelled at again about rape, Seto had decided to shut Ryuuji up in a way that he knew could work and would not require any physical harm to the raven-haired man.

      But it turned out all right. Because Ryuuji didn't really mind and he had run out of things to say. Not to mention the fact that Seto really was a good kisser.

      It felt right too.

      And in the end, that was the most important thing to both of them.

Commentary:

[1] He probably still was, but now he had the protection of several friends and not to mention a sometimes psychotic pharaoh who liked to mind crush people. This usually puts a dent in the bullying problem, although not all bullies were intelligent to pick up on this fact. However, those people would barely be able to land the first punch before they were suddenly wondering about why they were starting to be chased all around Domino City by a ravenous monster, and why on earth did nobody bother to offer a hand? This usually led to a great deal of confusion for said bully, but that was more or less the point.

[2] Jeez, that sounds like my parents….

[3] You get a cookie (a non-existent one, granted, but it's the thought that counts) if you know where _that_ little scenario came from.

[4] I wrote that and remembered that 'antisocial' doesn't really mean somebody who is not social, as my psychology teacher spent several minutes hammering that into our head (not to mention that schizophrenic doesn't mean split personality, but split from reality in which you hear voices telling you to do things. And there's positive and negative symptoms and all that lovely stuff). What it really means is somebody without a conscience… so then I thought about it and figured that plenty of people think that Seto doesn't have a conscience, so it can still work anyway. grin

[5] In Japan, KFC is supposed to be really popular. I don't know how it works, but when we went, there were about a gazillion KFCs and McDonalds there. Since I personally prefer KFC to McD, I chose that one.

[6] I don't recall if I talked about this before, but here I'm referring to his dad as Otogi-san because I didn't really want to use what he's called in the character guide… which is Mr. Clown. For some odd reason, I didn't really think it was desired to call Ryuuji's dad 'Mr. Clown' during this all-important character angst time.

[7] Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It's a pretty good book – very sarcastic, my favorite – if you ever have time to read it. It was our last book of the school year so I still remember a lot of it, and it helped that we watched the British version and Bridget Jones' Diary soon afterwards. Colin Firth. .

[8] coughs _Junior_. And no, I don't have an obsession with our lovely governor, despite what you think. Although I would like to ask him why he keeps asking the universities to take these bloody funding cuts.

      And thus we reach the bloody end. Again. At least this time, nobody got kidnapped, ran off to America (for eight years anyway), or were rather rudely whacked in the head with blunt objects (although I admit that the emotional sparring probably wasn't that good for their brain cell count either). But they're both in one piece, and so is my sanity, although at times I thought I would be having fun emotional breakdowns over this story. I'm not sure why, but this story was a bit more difficult than the last two, even though I love this coupling so much more.

      The ending I'm afraid is a bit abrupt, and in my original outline, the two were supposed to wake up all cuddled and happy. But then I thought about it more and frankly, what I'm seeing right now is somebody walking in on the two of them trying to suck each other's faces off. And that somebody (most likely YnBakura or YnYuugi, those bastards) is going to call the tabloids, and those tabloids are going to rush over and take pictures, and then the two will have to run off before they can eat their lasagna. And after they run off, they will argue. A lot. And they will argue so much that there will be no sex until one of them apologizes, and since they're both stubborn twits, there will be no sex for a long time.

      Okay, fine, I admit it. I was just too lazy to let them have sex. Plus the fact that I thought it was too fast, which is pretty hypocritical since this entire story started because the two of them were stupid enough to have sex in the first place. But I thought a kiss – even one that is only being done to shut Ryuuji up, a very noble thing indeed – is more significant than just plain sex. Call me old-fashioned, but I always thought that there's too much sex in fanfiction and not enough substance in a relationship. Which in short, makes this entire relationship backwards. ;; But we'll ignore that.

      I had a lot of trouble with this story, as I mentioned before, although sometimes I loved it to pieces. I don't think this is my best work – what my best work is I have no idea – but I'm not unhappy with it either. I think it might have just been the stress of the school year that got to me, so hopefully it's just me being really paranoid again.

      My next plans after this is to try and finish "Oreta Tengoku" (Jyounouchi/Ryuuji and one-sided Seto/Ryuuji) in about a month, and then move on to "The Sick Rose", which is a Seto/YnYuugi. Before anybody tries to smack me, I really do like Seto/YnYuugi and the storyline is a very old one that I would like to finish. Hopefully since it's summer, it will not take me as long as this fic (I swear this fic took me longer than LTOW and "Fairydust" combined… which isn't really good if you think about it --;;), but we'll see when it gets there. I am off to college in last August after all. D To wreak more havoc, mwahahaha! In addition to those projects, I'm working on an AU version of this story where Seto didn't break his engagement and did end up marrying Yuriko. It's called "Differences" and you can find it on my livejournal (unfortunately, you'll have to go to calendar and then May to find an entry that is called 'Differences (1/?). I'm not very organized, as you see.).

      Before I run off, I have so many people to thank, like the people who didn't review this fic so that I wouldn't have to write those annoying long paragraphs to frighten everyone. Just kidding! I really appreciate everyone who bothered to read this story, as well as the ones who reviewed to tell me what they thought of it. I may not have had as many reviews with this story, but some of the feedback I got (you know who you are) was just so amazing, and in the end, that was probably the thing that kept me going the most.

      And of course, this story would not be nearly as good as it is without all the wonderful help I got from rayemars-san. Applaud and worship her, everyone. She makes my stuff readable.

      Much thanks, mina-san.

Pikachumaniac (May 25, 2004)


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